Wow. I just tried reading a newspaper today for the first time in a long time … and I couldn’t believe how old and antique it felt, even though it was just a few hours old. This made me think about education, but let me share why the newspaper felt so old and out-dated first:
- It was on paper. I know, I know … but compared to my customized browser screen, it just felt old … and it made my fingers all black.
- There was nothing on topics I wanted to read about.
- There was no search function and it was really, really clunky.
- I couldn’t read other people’s comments.
- The articles were safe and bland and written for the “average reader” (a person who doesn’t really exist and someone I’d not want to get cornered by at a cocktail party).
- There was nothing on topics I was interested in. This is worth saying again because, to me …
- The newspaper wasn’t a “news”paper at all. I didn’t care about their news.
So I threw it on the floor (I still love that sound) and thought, “OK, if newspaper’s aren’t newspapers to me any more, what would I say about classrooms if I was forced back into a typical one … as a student?”
It was a fun exercise. I chuckled lots to myself (like a lot) … And for fun … I thought I’d share a few of the questions I imagined myself asking my imaginary teachers in the typical (and outdated) classroom.
Here it goes, and if you’d like to share some of your own, go for it! by commenting below:
- What are you talking about “Turn to the next chapter!?” We just learned this stuff … it’s great! Why can’t we fool around and experiment with it for a while?
- Uuhhh … like no offense … but I didn’t really ask for you to teach me. I was kind of enjoying the cool physics proff from MIT … Not that I don’t think you’re cool, of course.
- You’re joking, right? We have to use this lame book … with all these lame pictures? They don’t even have anything on Obama in it.
- A biblio-what? Couldn’t you just verify my links or bookmarks. I give props to everyone there. It’d be way easier, and it lets them know I was referencing them.”
- Isn’t there a way we could turn this into a game? You know? Like that cool school in NYC?
- What do you mean, “Why wasn’t I in class yesterday?” The project was due today. Seriously … do you really think I’d be able to get anything done in here?
- What’s up with all the bells?
- Like I know this ‘might’ help me in the future, but would you mind elaborating?
- Can we just play for a while?
I’m not – by sharing these questions to my imaginary scenario – trying to slam schools or teachers. But I used to love the newspaper, and today I realized that I have no use for them anymore. And I just had to ask myself, “What have I become accustomed to in my own learning that would make the typical classroom seem outdated? What would I question about learning and the classroom status quo?”
That’s my fun list of questions. I hope you share some of yours too.
Tags: classroom learning