As my husband and I have been navigating the special education system it has become so much more clear how little is being done to understand what children need in order to be successful learners. The latest catch phrase seems to be "21st Century Education" when referring to how classrooms should and can change from teacher centered to information centered. The possibilities of using resources outside the classroom walls are endless (students can create their own lessons online!) and can be harnessed to induce a higher love for learning in students. But - and it's a big BUT...people have to embrace the concept of change. Change in education systems can go very slowly with traditionalists fighting every step of the way. George Lucas writes eloquently here about how it's taken 20 years and we're just now starting to talk about what's working and what's not working in our schools.
I don't know where I've been but I just found out about George Lucas' organization, Edutopia and edutopia.org. The site is packed with information about how to enrich education for our children. How to start an after school social-emotional learning program or showing teachers how to use technology such as TED.com (Technology, Entertainment, Design) a collaboration of genius minds sharing their expertise, to watch a video on a subject he/she is teaching that week are just a couple of examples. Having a twice-exceptional child (also known as 2E: Gifted with a learning disability or emotional challenge), I am constantly looking for resources that will spark interest in him and for the teachers who, bless their hearts, are challenged with the task of motivating him to learn. And that's another blog, or book, or book series in itself.
My hope is that people will go see WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and jump into 21st Century Learning.
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