These days, we often hear about how the education system in the United States is failing. We're falling behind other countries and there are many theories why. According to Bill Gates,
"American education has been the best in the world, but we’re falling below our own high standards of excellence for high school and college attainment. We’re living in a tremendous age of innovation. We should harness new technologies and innovation to help all students get the education they need to succeed."
A common lament is that we used to be the best in the world, but our glory days have come and gone. On October 11th, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced they'd be giving $20 million to develop educational technologies to help American students succeed in the classroom. But is the lack of technology in our classrooms the real reason we're falling behind? Here's an interesting perspective:
http://www.takepart.com/news/
I encourage you to also click on the links that the author references in the article, especially Amanda Ripley's from Slate.com. Taken from her article:
"...school systems in Singapore, Finland, and Korea recruit 100 percent of their teachers from the top one-third of their academic cohort... In the United States, about 23 percent of new teachers—and only 14 percent in high-poverty schools—come from the top one-third. It is a remarkably large difference in approach, and in results."
It seems to me that spending the money to attract top talent to the teaching profession should be a higher priority than equipping our classrooms with cutting edge technology. What do you think?
Very interesting, Stephen! I agree that technology is not the way to produce better students, but with the standardized testing in VA in particular (as noted in another blog) technology is seen as an easier way to teach SOL points. I say this because I witnessed it in a high school this past summer.
ReplyDeleteWhile involved with helping students to pass their SOLs on a second try (heavy remediation), the teachers at a local high school were so excited about the smartboards that they were using to teach math, that they didn't realize that their students were not learning. When speaking with the students, they expressed frustration because they had not been taught the fundamentals of math, only how to use a TI-83 calculator well enough to complete basic functions. I say this to highlight the fact that although technology is great - it is only useful when used to enhance human ability. In the classroom, if the students (or instructors) do not understand the materials presented, technology is only a set back...other countries have learned that, its America's turn!
Yes, Saadia, I absolutely agree. It just makes logical sense and is quite obvious that technology is not the answer. Years ago, there wasn't technology and the United States did much better in education. Again, as I have said before, technology can be a big distraction. We get caught up in the technology and forget about what's important...the actual content.
ReplyDeleteStephen, you're right. Money needs to be used to hire better educators. Most countries pay teachers well and teachers are well-respected, but not here in the United States. Athletes are the ones that get the big paychecks, not the teachers. Sorry Ray, but you know it's true! America's values are in the wrong place, but hey, that's another subject for another day.
I agree that this is an interesting topic! I find it interesting that the article states, “"In most of the highest-performing systems, technology is remarkably absent from classrooms." It is important to hire quality teachers. It seems that with cutting edge technology here, the emphasis on the art of teaching is not seen as the sought talent, rather than being tech savvy. I would say we need to find a balance and assessing our economy now, I would agree that the priority should be allotted to teaching rather than technology. Increasing the use of updated technology is a great tool, yet only when the goal is kept in mind. Like Saadia said, the focus of technology in the class room should be to enhance human ability, and when we distance the goal from that, so will the adequacy of education.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, technology is not the solution to education and neither is hiring better teachers. They are definitely a part of the solution, but I believe that much of the learning and the motivation to learn should occur outside of the classroom. Much like the students Saadia described, I grew up learning how to use technology to solve problems, but never learning to solve the problem myself. I knew how to input an equation in a calculator but I was hardly familiar with why doing such a thing was even important. In high school, every student at my school was given a laptop and though this appeared to work well in theory, I doubt it was of great use in my education. For me, technology crippled me in a since because many teachers failed to teach and left the work to the gadgets. Also, a teacher ranked in the top third of their class is not equivalent to a great teacher. Of course they may be knowledgeable, but they must also know how to relay that information. To be honest, I just believe that parents need to take more responsibility in their child's learning and their needs to be a paradigm shift in the American culture in regards to education. Education in my opinion should be seen as an opportunity, not a form of punishment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point that recruiting the top talent to teach in our schools would lead to education improvement. There is no incentive for the best minds in America to take jobs working in our schools when they can be making millions else where. There needs to be a competitive economic incentive that makes teaching competitive with the top jobs in other sectors. However, this is not the only solution. America students don't associate school with fun and learning anymore. School is more of a forced and pointless institution for them. There needs to be a more disciplined approach to limit the constraints on curriculum to allow students' creativity and energy fuel their curiosity and motivation for learning.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting topic indeed. Donating money to acquire technology seems like it would help but is not a complete solution. Offering competitive economic incentive to possibly acquire better teachers seems like it would help but is not a complete solution. Money is not the only factor when choosing a career path or a change in career path. Unsure if it would be an effective method but does anyone have thoughts on offering free higher education in return for years of teaching service? Would there be any benefit to putting money into a program like this? Not a teacher so unsure if this solution as been explored.
ReplyDeleteAlso, while writing this comment and thinking about economic incentive a question popped into my head. Could Bill Gates donating money towards the acquisition of technology be considered an effortless attempt in finding a solution or possibly a self serving interest? Creating a classroom dependency on technology certainly would benefit Microsoft sales. Acquiring tangible products from ex-coworkers over placing investment into research would certainly seem to be a better return on his investment. Please note I am not sure what I actually think about this particular notion. The idea came from thinking about ways to approach the issue of improving education and not Gates' character. Maybe there are benefits in donating money for research but at the moment I am a mental loss.
Also, Amanda Ripley's idea of using other successful countries as model for comparison and discussion is a wonderful idea and if it is not currently taking place, should be.
I totally agree that the push must be to bring better teachers into the system. As for adding technology to the classroom, it will have little to no effect if the overall teaching is sub par. I myself teach in Career & Technical as a Computer Aided Design instructor and to become a teacher I had to take quite a pay cut moving out of industry but not everyone is willing to make such a leap. Once we begin to realize the value and the task we put on teachers then the tide may change and teachers will begin to be paid competitively but throwing technology at the problem is not the solution.
ReplyDeleteI have also been half and half when it comes to education and great teachers. Since I don't have the experience some might with teaching, I do not have personal opinion based on experience to share. I think this is an important aspect as well. I believe passion is behind everything we do. Therefore, I think the quality of education a student receives will take them far in life.
ReplyDeleteI am not against using technology to keep up with everyone/thing else, but if that's the only thing that is focused on then what happens to the kids? Could they get left behind in all the hustle and bustle of trying to keep up with technology and social media? I think this is a huge possibility. Students should get the feeling of confidence when going to school and this is through effective instruction and interaction in the classroom.
I would not say that providing more access to computers and technology is a negative aspect, but I think it needs to be balanced with great instructors.
I am a firm believer in better pay for teachers in public education. I have watched for years as excellent teachers leave the profession for better pay in the corporate world. Excellent teachers have to chose between what they want to provide for their families vs. their passion for teaching. Education usually ends up on the loosing end. Yet, the right technology applied well could benefit any school system. I remember when the private school where I was teaching was sold to a corporation, I was excited to finally be able to afford the equipment needed to visually present my anatomy class. Much to my dismay the money was spent on other technology that had no effect in the classroom. Hopefully, Mr. Gates' money will be spent wisely.
ReplyDeleteI can say that I can agree with your statement, however I feel that it is important to have both. I can see the point about having talented teachers and professors who are equipped in the arena of education, but I also feel that students do need to have their classrooms equipped with technology in order to be successful as well. Especially when you look at school systems who are not as fortunate as others. I feel they should still have the same opportunities as those other school systems. In addition The Gates Foundation gives to those with a need, and this is a need when you look at the technological advances that are happening today. Unfortunately those school systems who do not have as much money and support pumping into them will be left out, so I think this is the stance that this foundation is primarily looking at.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think it is that our classrooms are poorly equipped. Learning in the past was not attained by having a television and computer in every classroom. A good teacher will usually be able to make it work without all the bells and whistles. Now that isn't to say that poor textbooks and other teaching materials will suffice. I mean that the basics are enough to get the desired results. A poor teacher who has all the latest technology and techniques but who does not know how to use them is a waste. Putting more emphasis on the recruitment and retention of great teachers will be a far better expense to fund with this money.
ReplyDeleteAlthough technology is a very important part of today's education field, I do not believe it's the main issue that is compromising our academic system in the United States. Unfortunately, I have met more than a few teachers who seem to not enjoy their job and are just there for the summers off, not for the students.
ReplyDeleteSome teachers resist teaching anything out of the box, especially when it comes to technology. Many teachers in the school I work at refuse to use new technology (some do not have a computer in their own home!) and teach subjects "the old fashioned way." In this case, I DO believe technology is important, because each student learns in a different way, whether it be visual, reading, etc. and by using forms of technology that they are used to in their generation will keep their attention for longer and possibly help them process the information more efficiently than if a teacher read verbatim from a textbook.
I think a large problem is finding teachers who WANT to teach, who are OPEN to using technology and new ideas, and who are NOT afraid of change, whether it be in creative or technological form.
I strongly believe that the issue is not lack of technology in the classroom. I had a similar experience to what Connie explained, concerning my dependence on technology such as the TI-83 calculator in my middle school and high school years. It causes students like myself in most cases to use the technology as a crutch, and while we may understand what the calculator (in this instance) is doing for us, we cannot necessarily perform the math problems and equations on our own. So while I believe technology can be a great asset to the classroom in many different ways for multiple uses, it can also hinder learning in ways that hurt the students in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with previous comments stating that teachers do not necessarily need to come from the top 1/3 of their class. I think that it is true that those who graduate from the top percentiles of their class may simply be book smart and able to develop a good curriculum for a class they may teach, they may not have the skills necessary to facilitate effectively and tend to the needs of individual students. This situation could also be flipped around to say the opposite. Ultimately, I think teachers should be chosen on an individual basis, not solely in accordance to their ranking in their graduating class and how they look on paper. Performance is key in the classroom, and should be given attention when considering candidates to instruct in the classroom.