As I sit and reflect on the technological advances I have seen throughout my twenty-five years of life, I can hardly imagine where technology will have advanced by the year 2020. During my life, I have seen computers virtually extinct typewriters. Today, communication is no longer limited to “snail mall” or land line telephones. Cell phones can be seen in the hands of almost any person, regardless of their age, socioeconomic status, or nationality. E-mail and text-messaging is keeping the world connected, as well.
“Students who begin kindergarten this fall will graduate from high school thirteen years from now, in the spring of 2020. At that point they'll become voters, and so will need 20/20 vision about the nature of the complex 2020 natural and electronic worlds they'll inhabit, and about the challenges our society will then confront. Helping 2007 kindergarteners attain 2020 20/20 vision during 13 years of school is compounded by the reality that it's almost impossible to predict now what their adult world will be like.” (Dr. Sylwester)
As an educator, it is imperative as I confront the advances of year 2020 I am optimistic, scientific, and democratic in order to prepare my students for the challenges they will face.
I agree with Dr. Sylwester No Child Left Behind, which currently defines public K-12 education, has been negatively stated, rather it could be said Every Child Learns. Educators and parents need to look forward to the future with a new positive outlook. This will help diminish the pessimism many currently feel about education.
Secondly, as an educator it is imperative I understand the massive advances that has been made in science and technology in recent years. I must transmit this knowledge to my students to prevent raising another generation of voters who are uninformed on socially important issues related to genetics, neuroscience, global climate changes, and computer technology. If educators don’t rise to this challenge, then what will be the opinion of our future voters?
Finally, school is the only institution in our society in which young children interact for 13 years with many hundreds of non-kin at a similar developmental stage.
“A result of the current standards and assessment focus is the test—driven drive for efficient individual performance. It's achieved at the expense of social interaction and group decision-making that are central to the development of democratic skills. We've discovered during the past several years how important it is for our culture to understand and negotiate with other cultures.” (Dr. Sylwester)
Again, as an educator it is imperative I explicitly teach my students the social and democratic skills to become productive citizens in our society.
In conclusion, it is imperative as I confront the advances of year 2020 I am optimistic, scientific, and democratic in order to prepare my students for their challenges they will face. If parents and educators do not demand a 21st century education for 21st century students, then who will?
