Standing in the Gap - Feb. 16th

Wow - there is so much that one could possibly say this week. But I think I'm going to jump on the technology bandwagon this week. I think so many people are so ready to blame technology for our problems. But honestly, I believe it is not technology that is the problem, but how we allow ourselves to use and be affected by technology. I think there are wonderful benefits to cell phones, iPods, Blackberries, computers, television, and so on. But we have allowed ourselves to be carried away in this technology flurry without actually thinking about it ourselves (I say "we" as in society in general). With the way media works today, we are told a smart phone is the way to go, so we get one (myself included). One person writes a successful book about vampires, so everybody writes books, tv shows and movies about vampires. One person shoots up his school and it's all over the news, so other people shoot up their schools too. One person blames the internet, and media/technology in general on the world's problems, so we all do. I think it is just another example of people being less and less willing to take responsibility for their actions. It's easy to blame something else. It's easy to say cartoon characters dropping anvils on one another causes children to be violent. It's easy to say that goth culture causes teenagers to go on shooting rampages. It's easy to say that people can't think for themselves anymore because we've got the internet. But couldn't the internet be considered kind of like a library? We could get all the information we needed from the library, and if your library didn't have what you needed, they'd find it for you. Now we've got it all online - same info - just faster. Of course I realize that any old Joe can post stuff online and call it legit (just look at what we're doing with our blogs!). But I don't think that means we shouldn't embrace our new "technological culture" and cut it out of the schools! All we need to be doing is teaching how to use these technologies responsibly. Wasn't there a time when some people thought books were a waste of time? They thought their children should be learning how to run a farm or cook meals, or take care of babies instead of "filling their heads with nonsense"? I think it's just an endless cycle of being afraid of the new and unfamiliar.

As we've said many times in the past few weeks, times change. And we can spend time trying to fight the natural evolution of our world, or we can embrace it and use it wisely. I most definitely think that curriculum documents have changed over the years to reflect changes in our lives. Perhaps it's teachers who don't always implement the changes. Haven't you ever heard grumblings from fellow staff members about these stupid new programs, or new reporting systems, or anything new? As adults we do sometimes have a difficult time embracing change. Children are so flexible and can pick anything up on a dime. It's nothing for them to try something new, and we expect them to do it all the time. I think a lot of the time it is adults who are afraid to make the leap into the unknown. We like to be experts. We like to be good at what we do. So perhaps one of the reasons why we feel that children and teens (and even adults) are using technology unwisely and lack common sense, is that "we" dig our heels in about acknowledging its' existence. We say, "Cell phones are stupid. All kids do is text all day long, so we need to ban them from the schools". Don't we want our kids to have social experiences and communicate with their friends? We say, "The internet is bad. Children are exposed to way too much." Isn't it the job of the parent to monitor what their kids are doing online, and perhaps the schools to teach them about appropriate internet usage? With anything new, there will be resistance (the telephone, the motorized vehicle, email...). But we can waste time fighting the inevitable, or we can embrace change and educate our students and ourselves about adaptability and responsibility.

And I think that's where schools come in. We were discussing last class about how teachers are often expected to be parents to these students. I think it is safe to say that while there are many responsible parents out there, there are probably some just like "us" who resist change. Therefore, it is also probably safe to assume that many children are not being educated or monitored adequately regarding the use of technology. And that's where we, teachers, come in. Again, we can fight it, or we can use it to educate.

I decided to visit the Church of the Rock last night for their Saturday evening service, and at one point during the sermon the pastor was talking about intercession - praying for people who need help in their lives. Then he used the phrase, "Stand in their gap." And I thought, "Aha"! I think that is exactly what we do as teachers. We stand in the gap and try to make connections in order to fill that gap. So if there is a gap between what students are learning on their own where technology is concerned and how they should be using technology, then we should be there to fill that gap. And it is not just true for technology, but curriculum in general. Where are our students now, and where do we want them to be? And whether it is written in a curriculum document or not, we need to be aware of these gaps in our specific groups of students and be ready to fill them.