Educating an Educator

Another course finished, another semester done and I’m left with a vast amount of new knowledge and approaches to twenty-first century learning. Indeed, one could *almost* say that through all the lectures, discussions, work, and assignments I’ve learned something myself. However, this knowledge did not come through any one source, but rather was curated from a variety of sources. There were the traditional, my professor, my classmates, and the less traditional, online educator blogs, my personal blogs, Pinterest and even the news.

At the beginning of the year we were tasked with following other educators and their online expeditions into navigating learning in the twenty-first century. I followed four blogs, admittedly more than the three we were meant to but for a reason. I approached this with the desire not only to learn more about twenty-first century learning but also to get a more global perspective on learning. I followed Canadian George Coruos’ The Principal of Change, American Larry Ferlazzo’s self-titled blog, as well as two blogs from the UK, one, Andrew Old’s Scenes from the Battleground - Teaching in British Schools, and the other, Thomas Starkey’s Stack of Marking, which follows, rather than public schools, experiences in a Further Education College, a blog I selected because of my interest in post-secondary teaching. As I followed the archives and new posts of each blog, it became clear that each had their own unique perspective on twenty-first century teaching, which has served to influence my understandings on teaching in the modern era. 

Couros’ blog demonstrates the fluidity of education with a focus on non-judgement for those focused on the “old story” but rather presents the appealing aspects of the “new story” education for those interested in adopting it. Perhaps this was best summarized in his March 10th post, “If you are scared of change ask yourself this question.” where in he states “People are terrified of change. Not just of change, but the process of change and what it entails”, recognizing not only the fear but also presenting the change, with each and every post. Larry Ferlazzo’s blog focused more on the way in which this innovation, once selected, is more than just a pick and choose scenario, presenting it and his work on the topic as a way of living, while still highlighting the issues with a sudden shift. I particularly enjoyed his March 25th post about the “YouTube Safety Mode” which integrated both his own troublesome experiences with the newly initiated program, as well as a recap of his Twitter interactions on the topic - directly showing how much twenty-first century learning can even help individuals understand the ins and outs of other twenty-first century educational assets. Arthur Old’s Scenes from the Battleground is an educational revelation which I’m incredibly happy to have found as it combines current events and educational politics, although from the United Kingdom, with in depth think pieces on debated issues in education. One such work was his “The Problem with Knowledge” presented in two parts which fought to understand the differences between traditional approaches to “knowledge” and challenging what actually qualifies as useful intellect in the twenty-first century, directly altering modern perceptions of educational value. The final blog I followed, Stack of Marking was a testament to the way in which education at any level can be challenged and discussed, particularly when surrounded by an engaging narrative. One of his archival posts “Failing” was of particularly interest as he notes that none of his students blamed him after lower GCSE results, but more than this, one quote in particular struck me. He states, “Shared responsibility is something we all feel when it comes to our students and their academic achievement. We revel in the successes. … It bolsters our sense of self worth, validates the job we do. If nothing more it’s an ego boost. Their success is ours. But that is the same for the failures too.”, a quotation striking for its honesty as well as for what it says about the full expanse of a teacher’s role, going beyond twenty-first century techniques but also illustrating the importance of empathy in twenty-first teaching.

However, just as much as these inspiring educators, I was also fascinated and educated by the art of curation on Pinterest and Cube for Teachers. While Cube is brilliant in it’s alignment with the Canadian curriculum, I plan on adding some of the resources I found on Pinterest onto my Cube account. Pinterest brought a great deal of teaching and technique down to a fun and innovative level that I had not seen before. I remember students around me struggling to grasp tenants of English, but would they have struggled seeing an (admittedly unacademic but nonetheless humorous and accurate) article like “Fancy Literary Techniques Explained by Disney”? Or an activity which used Pixar short films to explain and enhance plot? By bringing the most theoretical approaches, those which tend to confuse students, down to relatable things, however childish, Pinterest’s curatorial skills work in its favour and make it an invaluable resource.

All of this, in addition to classroom discussions of literacies and other twenty-first century ideologies, worked to influence my blog over these past few months, teaching me to write on what is topical, analyzing everything and more importantly, keeping my eyes open at all times. Education should be more than theory and learning, but innovation, studying the real and relevant and daring to incorporate and challenge existing structures. That is perhaps, the most powerful take away from this course. That one cannot be a passive learner - even once the classroom with you in the seat of the student is long gone. No, we must remain active, constantly working to improve ourselves and our classrooms and keep them relevant, both for our students and education in general.

Until next time,

A. Gallacher