On September 28, 2011 President Barack Obama gave his annual back-to-school address. This year’s address let me know that he sees the challenges our changing society place on our schools, administrators, teachers and students. He recognizes that our high school students are preparing to be global citizens competing with the best and brightest from around the world. The president says to students in attendance and those watching across the nation that “You’re this country’s future. You’re young leaders. And whether we fall behind or race ahead as a nation is going to depend in large part on you.” The President laid out steps he believes will help students meet this challenge.
1. Be the Best Student You Can Be
2. Explore and Take Risks
3. Continue Education Beyond High School
If we are depending on the next generation of high school students to make our nation competitive in the global market then this call to excellence is for teachers as well as students.
Be the best teacher you can be. We have to look at our classroom activities and instructional strategies and ask ourselves some questions. Are we planning lessons that require our student to think critically or solve real-world problems? Do we provide opportunities for our students to communicate or collaborate with each other? In the Global Achievement Gap Tom Wagner (2008) states that “effective communication, curiosity and critical-thinking skills are essential competencies and habits of mind for life in the twenty-first century.”
Explore and take Risks. As teachers we are used to having control in the classroom and some of us are uncomfortable knowing that students often posses the technological know-how that we may not. It’s Ok to use the student’s knowledge to our advantage. There are several Web 2.0 technologies that are simple to use and provide opportunities for authentic collaboration and communication between students.
Continue your education. We need to be curious about the technological advancements that have educational value. We have to stay abreast of the tools that are available to us to engage our students and make our classes relevant. Most districts offer supplemental technology training and the online community has a vast array of resources available for teachers to network and communicate with other professionals.
If our students follow the three steps laid out by President Obama and we make sure our classrooms are preparing them for the twenty-first century our nation is sure to race ahead.
References
Wagner, T. (2008). The global achievement gap. New York
Address transcript can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/28/remarks-president-back-school-speech
