Insulting and Ignoring
I came across an interesting article on David Warlick's blog today that made me reflect on teaching for a moment. In it, the author--John Naughton--heckles newspaper executives who seem baffled that subscriber numbers are down. Another worry, he states is that the average age of newspaper subscribers has risen to an all-time high of 54.
The section of the article that resonated with me the most read:
But in any other industry, the discovery that your potential future customers weren't interested in buying your product would prompt an investigation into whether there was something wrong with the product. But what one hears - still - from the newspaper industry is that there's something wrong with the customers. And what one finds, on closer examination, is that the industry seems determined either to insult or to ignore them.
Does this remind you of education at all? Have we turned away from an understanding of who our "potential future customers" are, instead clinging to a vision of what we want them to be? Can we ever be truly successful as educators if we don't adapt to the changing nature of our "clientel?"
How many times have you heard another educator explain away struggling students by saying, "The kids of today just aren't what they used to be."
Unfortunately, those educators are right---the kids of today aren't what they used to be---but our schools haven't changed.
Is there a disconnect here?
What do accomplished teachers need to do in order to ensure that schools stay connected to their students? What kinds of professional development and training are necessary to ensure that our classrooms are engaging today's generation of students?
I came across an interesting article on David Warlick's blog today that made me reflect on teaching for a moment. In it, the author--John Naughton--heckles newspaper executives who seem baffled that subscriber numbers are down. Another worry, he states is that the average age of newspaper subscribers has risen to an all-time high of 54.
The section of the article that resonated with me the most read:
But in any other industry, the discovery that your potential future customers weren't interested in buying your product would prompt an investigation into whether there was something wrong with the product. But what one hears - still - from the newspaper industry is that there's something wrong with the customers. And what one finds, on closer examination, is that the industry seems determined either to insult or to ignore them.
Does this remind you of education at all? Have we turned away from an understanding of who our "potential future customers" are, instead clinging to a vision of what we want them to be? Can we ever be truly successful as educators if we don't adapt to the changing nature of our "clientel?"
How many times have you heard another educator explain away struggling students by saying, "The kids of today just aren't what they used to be."
Unfortunately, those educators are right---the kids of today aren't what they used to be---but our schools haven't changed.
Is there a disconnect here?
What do accomplished teachers need to do in order to ensure that schools stay connected to their students? What kinds of professional development and training are necessary to ensure that our classrooms are engaging today's generation of students?
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