A “21st Century Curriculum” does not necessarily mean more computers, new software, smartboards or other upgraded technologies. Those are certainly tools that can be used to deliver some of the curriculum, but they are not in and of themselves sufficient to teach children what they need to know in a conceptual age.
Many studies have shown that simply putting computers in classrooms or substituting one delivery method for a higher tech method does not significantly improve student achievement. Billions of dollars have been wasted in this country outfitting classrooms with high end technology that is either misused or not used at all. Unless teachers and students are trained in, and committed to, the integration of technology, there is very little to be gained through its use. That is why we will be targeting the use of technology to those areas where it can be used most efficiently and effectively. Much of that decision will be made by the classroom teacher. Some teachers may decide to use NIngs or wikispaces, while others may decide to use a Podcast, or smartmusic.com or any myriad of other websites, hardware or learning technologies that are available. This will also be an iterative process, as the Upper School is a living laboratory where we will be determining the efficacy of various approaches before we invest in broader school use.
It is also not just in the future. Many of the aspects of the 21st century curriculum are already being delivered throughout the grades at CHA. That is why I am comfortable using the phrase in connection with our school right now.
So, if it is not merely technology, what is a 21st century curriculum? It is:
1. Christ centered. There is great wisdom and efficacy in the Deuteronomy 6 model of teaching children throughout the day, when they eat, when they sleep and when they are walking. It is ever more essential that students have God’s wisdom written on their hearts as well as on their minds, and that the process is a 24/7 partnership between home, church and school. If you consider the computer, iPod, cell phone and TV screen to be the door to the heart and mind of our children, then the command to write God’s wisdom on the doorframes of our homes takes on great significance and immediacy. As students communicate with each other constantly and instantaneously (one Mom told me her kids were in the back seat while they were car shopping, and the kids were giving her immediate input on the “coolness” of every car model via text messaging with friends) they are ever more subject to, and swayed by, their peers. The school will take on an increasing importance as the institution that can provide wisdom, role modeling and mentoring from Living Curriculum teachers who can place a Christian context on information in the most cohesive and comprehensive manner. We can no longer deliver academic information at school, spiritual information at church, and use our home time to align the two.
No comments:
Post a Comment