It's a Flat World After All

Reading The World is Flat was truly an eye-opener for me, and listening to my colleagues react to the text, ignited in me a spark of enthusiasm that I really need going in to the new school year.

This summer has not been an easy one for me because I am still adjusting to losing my mother just two weeks before school ended. I have felt a sort of malaise consuming me for the past few months and I have not felt the normal anticipation for starting a new school year that usually propels me into this very demanding profession. In fact, I bought The World is Flat right after school ended, but I had trouble connecting with the ideas until I reached the section of the book talking about how the new world will affect students, teachers, parents, etc. When I read the section where Friedman talks about choosing teachers based on their ability to inspire passion for learning, I suddenly felt that familiar pull to get back in the classroom and set my students on fire (I speak metaphorically, of course). One of my favorite quotations has always been, "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire," so this text reminded me why I love to teach.

Our class this morning helped me reaffirm so many aspects of good teaching: students need time to share ideas in small groups before drawing the big picture; students need modeling of new skills, helpful facilitators, and practice; students need empowering to create a safe environment for learning; and students need food! (Well--perhaps some candy from time to time.)

Thank-you for giving this thirty-one-year-teaching-veteran a chance to learn new teaching strategies and connect with other teachers. I can already tell I will learn so much from other teachers and rejoice in knowing, "It's a flat world after all" (to be sung to the tune, "It's a Small World")!