How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
Sep
21
Written by:
9/21/2009 12:01 PM
Have you ever been asked to tone it down in reference to your
technology use in your classroom? I have had several occurences in my
career where I have witnessed professional educators who have requested
their fellow colleagues to not use technology so much. Why?
Early in my career, I actually witnessed professional
educators who purposely sabotaged another colleague's use of technology
with an official request to administration because they felt it would
reflect poorly on their own professionalism by not using it themselves.
I have heard statements over the years like;
- "Are you trying to make us all look bad if we don't use technology?"
- "Are you just trying to show off?"
- "You are making me look bad because I don't do it that way."
Let's be clear. I am all about questioning the educational
value of something. I think there are is a lot of merit in questioning
almost everyhing to be honest. I see a difference in these types of
questions though.
Does this type of sabotage occur in your work environment? Is
this ethical? How would you respond? How should your district
technology personnel respond? How should an adminstrator respond?
For me, the most difficult aspect of this conversation is the
reflection on what I feel is the most important quality a teacher can
posses. I completely agree with my colleague Ben Grey on his ideas of leading by learning where he wrote, "I
believe all leaders should be, above all else, the lead learners in the
institution they are leading." Why would you want to be a teacher and
a professional in an educational institution if you do not like to
learn yourself? I just don't get it! The greatest lesson we can
provide our students with is the lesson to love learning. Our
curricular areas are bulging with "stuff" that will never fully get
taught.
Textbooks are not written to be covered in a single year so
don't try! In general, textbooks are written to be full of information
that meets every possible state's standards of learning to maximize
sales for the textbook company. Geoff Ruth writes a nice article about
scrapping the textbook at Edutopia,
"Without a textbook, I can create curriculum that engages students by
relating science to their everyday lives." ... Furthermore, he says,
"Teaching without a textbook means more prep time, especially in the
first few years. It means amassing and adapting curriculum from a wide
variety of sources, including journals, lab books, Web sites, packaged
curricula, and other teachers. It means mapping this collection to the
standards of your school and state." While I agree with him that it
takes more work, for me, this is some of the my favorite work! This
type of preparation is enjoyable because it allows me to learn more
than I ever would have by being dependent upon the textbook.
The best advice I have given to my colleagues who are
confronted is to talk about their own joy of learning and how
technology has transformed their thinking about learning. I have
requested that they reach out to their colleagues and help them if they
are willing. Finally, talk to them about their concerns and find out
what is really at the root of the problem. Is it a fear of
technolgoy? Is it a fear of not knowing how to do something? Is it
simply laziness? You just never know. Perhaps... shh ... I can't
believe I am saying this ... perhaps... there is a better way without
technology? You just never know!
Basically, I don't have a perfect answer at this time for my colleagues... I am hopoing you do!
By Scott Meech and cross-posted at SMeech.net
8 comment(s) so far...
How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
Scott, I love this conversation. This could have happened years ago, when people tried open classrooms, multi-age classrooms, looping classrooms and yes, some stuck with regular classrooms. Do all of the above resources work? Sure they do, some better than others, but is it the teacher or the program?
I think with the reference to tone down your technology use in the classroom, we have yet to have parents circle the wagons and have a voice. Many parents and community members see the direct result of toned down technology, their job skills are no longer valued and some kind of technology has taken over. I can't wait for parents to shout out that they want us to do more. Fear of the unknown, fear of not knowing as much as our students can not be our guide. The vision(s) about where we are headed and how we can prepare our students for the future need to be our guide. Great start to a long conversation!
Cheryl
By Cheryl Oakes on
9/21/2009 1:27 PM
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How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
I completely agree with Ben Gray and his ideas of leading by learning. I am trying to introduce the value of ePortfolios to my colleagues, and I have recently met some opposition. Sometimes people are afraid and cautious of what they don't know, instead of curious about what they can learn. From those people, perhaps we learn balance and better ways to communicate the value of what we do. More conversations like this need to take place. Thank you for getting the ball rolling.
By Dana Watts on
9/23/2009 7:37 PM
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How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
Would these teachers also "sabatoge" the implementation of another new teaching strategy or tool that supported your standards aligned curriculum/instructional goals?
Perhaps these teachers are seeing technology as a separate entity and not as part of the whole - the art of teaching, the pedagogical understandings and strategies teachers share with their students to support all types of learners at various levels.
For those of us involved in instructional technology and staff developments, it is imperative that when we share technology tools, we acknowledge and build on the content and pedagogical knowledge the teachers possess. That we help them appreciate its value and relevance to teaching and learning.
Within a school or grade level, I would ask if these teachers are part of a team or PLC discussing instructional goals for their students. Has formative assessment data been made available to show that the technology integration has impacted student understanding? If we just show them the technology, that's all they see. We need to show them that we're not "doing technology," we're involved in effective instruction to meet our specific content area goals.
By Dawn Moore on
10/4/2009 5:13 PM
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How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
As a college student myself I the use of technology is essential in preparing kids for the future. If teachers are toning down what they are teaching the industry won't tone down what they are inventing which will put students behind.
By Craig Z on
9/24/2009 8:14 AM
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How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
I think we are at a real turning point here
those of us who believe in teacher led student centered
learning need to insist that technology
empowers us as professionals. As professionals
we need to clearly set out how and why.
By Laurence Peters on
9/24/2009 11:57 AM
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How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
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4/28/2010 7:17 PM
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How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
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By Amit on
4/25/2010 6:21 PM
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Re: How do you respond to someone who holds you back? by Scott Meech
Yes, it is people's insecurities, which make them complain about the one's who are using technology for learning. Rather than concentrating on such people, we must enhance our skills and concentrate on how we can excel in them.
By Super MBA on
2/9/2012 5:23 AM
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