Well, the school year is underway.  I know this because I’ve celebrated my birthday.  Having an end-of-August birthday has always meant that I associate my birthday with the start of school.  But this year was a little different.  My birthday was a “significant” one. . .I turned 40!

I spent a little time that day reflecting on all the changes in the world I’d seen in those 40 years…well, ok, the 35 or so from which I actually have memories.  My children laugh, sometimes even scoff, when I tell them of the things I’ve seen:  I remember our first microwave, the changes in music (reel-to-reels, 8 track, cassettes, cds, and now mp3 players), and yes, I had to talk to my friends on the telephone that was in the kitchen ATTACHED  to the WALL when they called!  If I needed a ride home from school, I knew how to use the payphone on the wall at school!  Computers are another whole area:  my first home computer was a Commodore 64 we hooked to the tv and I used TRS-80s by Radio Shack (we called them Trash-80s) at school for my first computer programming class (taught by one Mr. Hall at Sabetha High School!)  At home, my first computer was purchased WITHOUT the newly invented CD-drives because I thought certainly software would always be sold on floppy disks . . . and yes I had both the 5 1/4 and 3.5 inch drives! I was later thrilled to upgrade my home computer to one with a whole GIG of memory!!  Why would anyone ever need more than than that?

So the changes I’ve seen in a mere 40 years are phenomenal! It overwhelms me to think of what the future is going to be like for the students in our schools today.  I wonder, are we preparing students for today’s world or for the world they’ll be living in  when they finish school in 10 or so years?  Are we thinking forward to the skills they’ll need to compete in a global world that is expanding exponentially?  If you haven’t watched the movie Did You Know?, I highly recommend it. It might make you re-think the importance of what we do as teachers.  Another short, thought-provoking video I saw this week is I Need My Teachers To Learn, performed by a Kansas guy.  Listen close to its words and see if you’re not challenged to rethink how we use and allow the use of technology.  Could it be that today’s generation of students approach the use of technology in a different way than we 40-somethings do?  Or differently even than the 20- and 30-something people beginning their teaching careers today? What would it look like in our schools and classrooms if we embraced the way the kids use technology as our own ways?  (If  you’re reading my blog inside my district’s firewalls, these YouTube versions will be blocked for you and you’ll have to view them somewhere else.  Interesting, ironic coincidence, huh?)

So as you start this 2009-2010 school year my challenge to you is to open your mind to what is really important.   What are the timeless skills that kids will need no matter how the world changes?  Focus on them.  What are the creative and innovative ways that technology can change the way you teach?  Pick one and experiment with it.  And most importantly, how can you make a difference in your school?  Do it. (Here’s a refresher from an earlier post on this theme.)