Envisioning Education With New Eyes

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As I sit with only 20 days left of my public education path here in Texas, I find myself examining my ideas about what type of learning meets the needs of today’s learners. In thinking back over my last few years of teaching in the elementary classroom, I see there are three different ideals at play. 20% of the kids in the traditional class can quite easily learn and achieve success in the traditional classroom. They are responsible learners, that work hard and regardless of the delivery method, will still come shining through. 50% percent of the room is going to have some struggles along the way in that traditional setting, but would be able to be much more productive in a Flipped Classroom concept. After doing the math, that still leaves 30% of the classroom that isn’t meeting or exceeding their goals on a daily basis. Why? Shouldn’t every child be successful when we change the direction of instruction to meet their needs? Sadly, no… So many factors go into a child’s learning, that we can’t assume by flipping our lessons, and changing our philosophy, that everything will fall into to place for every single student. For those who have struggled year after year, they have, by the intermediate grades now become very set in that reputation. We have all had students like this. They have never turned in homework, are always late with work, and never volunteer or participate in class. No matter what we we do, there are a couple of kids each year, that simply have something standing in their way of success among the 20 other kids in the class that year. Home life,  learning disabilities, trouble with peers or self confidence, all play a part in the 7 hours we spend with them.  Often we can break through those struggles and make some difference, but will the teacher they get year after year do the same? Is there a option for kids who seemingly could be a public education student, but need some kind of alternate learning opportunities? I have in the last few weeks, decided yes. In looking at how I am going to change the path of my education career, I have looked at several options, including virtual schools. So many virtual schools exist, and many have strong mission statements, and great philosophies that meet the needs of kids just like this. Individualized learning with EdTech as the basis, is working for many children in K-12. As an educator, I am so proud to know, that we are really at a point in which we can meet the needs of any type of learner, with never there being a ball dropped. Education has come such a long way, and today we are more than ever leading the way in revolutionizing learning. (Regardless of what our government seems to think.) So no matter what venue of education you hail from, may we all just be delighted in knowing we make a difference!

If you are wanting to know more about virtual schools or flip class concepts see the links below:

http://www.classroomflipping.com/index.html

http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/how-the-flipped-classroom-is-radically-transforming-learning-536.php

http://www.k12.com/

http://www.connectionsacademy.com/home.aspx

http://www.flvs.net/Pages/default.aspx

 

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