We need change too

Have you noticed lately everyone is talking about “need for change”? They need change in the economic regulations. They need change in the incarceration system. They need change in the automobile building and energy production. They need change in building the houses and heating them. I shouldn’t really say “THEY” I have to say WE! We need all these changes. We also need one more change and it is the change in the education. I am not talking about some kind of breaking the old and building something new. I am talking about evolution not revolution There are many new ideas growing within the “old” systems. You can see these processes everywhere. Green approaches in building, constructions, garbage, energy sources etc. are obvious. There are new ideas for the stock market, international relationships, collecting information, learning, bringing up the children, and, of course, the school. New ideas in school are completely revolutionary. In the old school the teacher knew everything. The process of learning was a process of passing the teacher’s knowledge to the students’ memory. That worked for centuries. That worked even 20 years ago. Suddenly it changed. My students do not want my knowledge any longer, they want their own. I think that because of the change in the needs of the students we started to search for new ways to teach. In today’s school I don’t always know all the information and very often I learn new things while reading my students’ projects. That creates fun for both sides. This is why being a teacher now is so interesting. Everybody creates new methods and strategies. Everybody brings success stories to the meetings. Everybody tries new things every day. We make new assignments to keep students interested. We use new tools to keep them on task. We pay attention to their moods, their family relationships, their talents and abilities. We are trained to recognize their differences and adjust the assignments to their individual levels and tastes. I don’t just pass my knowledge onto them any longer, I help them find what knowledge will fit their needs.