Early Morning Thoughts

The house is quiet, everyone asleep. Yesterday I took a day off any computer thoughts. We went to Splish Splash Water Park. It was my first time ever at a water park. Not only did I have great fun, but I noticed that most people really don't care what they look like. I, myself, agonized over my bathing suit...does it cover enough, do I look thin enough, can I be seen in public like this...but, with the exception maybe of the teenage girls, nobody else cared. Everyone just had a great time. It was extremely refreshing to realize that looks at this place really didn't matter.

This morning I went to David Warlick's blogsite, 2 Cents Worth. It's saved in my aggregator so it's an easy early morning click. I read his blog post and subsequent discussion about his daughter's lack of tech ed in college. As I read, I realized that, by focusing on technology, and talking with so many others focused on technology, I have been losing track of what's really important in school. Technology is a great tool, but that's all it is...a tool. While I LOVE using this tool to help me inspire and teach my students, it's not the end all and be all of education. If the children aren't taught...taught to be life-long learners, evaluative readers, cooperative and valuable group members and productive members of a global society...then we haven't done our jobs, and all the technology in the world will not change that fact.

My daughter is in a district that does not have tech as its focus. She types up papers and creates covers for reports. That's it. And yet, because she lives in a household with two techies, she is using technology in her world. She is much more knowledgeable than her classmates when it comes to usage. But, even without the technology in school, Ali has come to love going to school, is interested in her classes, is engaged in group activities, and comes home to do further research on topics of interest to her, ready to share in class the next day. She is able to question and evaluate information, synthesize her learning, and take it further to application. What more could I ask of a student?