If Walls Could Talk....

I'm doing this a little bit back to front but oh well! One of the questions we were asked to reflect on during Week 1 was "How do we display our understanding of the purpose of education in our classrooms?" I think the purpose of education is to help students to develop the skills they need to actively participate in our rapidly changing world. The photos below reflect some of the key skills and values I try and model to the students:
Collaboration: the hands reaching out together.
Diversity/valuing different view points: our multiple intelligences display
Goal-setting: our superstar wall where students from a range of abilities put their work when they have achieved their individual goals.
Student Empowerment: You can't quite see the top of the poster but it says "When you enter this classroom you are..."

Nunchuck Skills, Bow Hunting Skills, Computer Hacking Skills....

This week we have been asked to reflect on whether students need both '20th Century' and 21st Century' skills. To cut a long story short my answer is...yes! As a NE/Year 1 teacher my job involves helping students to acquire '20th Century skills' so they have a solid foundation upon which they can build their 21st century skills. I set up opportunities for my students to develop their communication, collaboration and problem solving skills from the get go but without the ability to write, read or perform basic mathematical calculations it would be difficult for my students to fully become '21st Century Learners. Initially a large amount of teacher direction is required to scaffold them towards understanding the basics of learning.The exciting part of my job is gradually removing these scaffolds and guiding the students towards using their newly acquired tools to take their learning 'wider' and explore the world around them using 21st century skills.

We are the Kids of the 21st Century....

It's been 2 decades since I sang a song with the same title as this post as part of an Art Splash Choir at the Town Hall (my involvement was based largely on the free t-shirt and day off school rather than any great passion for music.) In those 20 years there have been huge advances made in technology but the progress of education in New Zealand has been far less linear. While many of the '21st Century' technologies that existed only in movies have now become a reality the changes in classroom practices are far less dramatic. Why has the adoption of new innovations in teaching not been universal? There seems to be huge disparities in practices even within schools. What is preventing this change? Is it time? money? a lack of understanding? In undertaking further study through 'The Mind Lab' I hope to discover how I can become an effective leader and agent of change and prepare my students for life as kids of the 21^st Century.