Different World

Most professions feel a certain amount of pressure to keep up with the technological advances of our world. Teaching is no exception. I've learned to love my computer, Smartboard and tablet. That being said, I confess that there are times when I long for a different world. To be perfectly honest, my teaching style still clings to the last gasps of an environment without computers.

A few weeks ago, my students were required to build a model of the internal anatomy of a frog. We were preparing for a non-virtual frog dissection lab. Supplies needed: paper frog, paper internal organs, scotch tape, scissors and colored pencils. Gasp, they were asked to use low tech supplies to complete a project with their lab partners. Gasp again, Google and computers were not necessary.

As I watched my students complete their task, I asked myself what it would look like in my classroom if I had assigned them a similar task using virtual manipulation of frog organs on a computer screen. My prediction looks and sounds like this. Silence. Eyes glazed over. Tapping of fingers on keyboards. Breathing. Hands raised for my help. More silence. More finger tapping. Activity done.

Contrast that with a low tech activity. Animation. Chatter. Giggles. Working with lab partners to complete a task. Messy scraps. Pencils sharpening. Discussions about sushi, little brothers, parents, high school, friends, TV shows and last night's basketball game. Naming paper frogs. Compromising on the color of the small intestines. Heads together. Sharing one roll of tape with six others. Running out of tape. Losing a stomach part. Finding the stomach part. Cleaning up. Pride in a completed frog.

I sense that my district would be much happier with me if I turned over my papers and pencils in favor of computer activities. Truth to be told, it would make my life a lot easier. Quiet students staring at computer screens. What's not to love?

Plain and simple, I long for a different world. A place where people communicate with the folks sitting next to them. A place where kids start talking about their likes and dislikes without being prompted. A place where completing an on-line worksheet isn't seen as more valuable than using a piece of paper and a pencil. A place where touch, color, talk, giggles, compromise and problem solving happen with other human beings. A world where Google doesn't tell kids what to do or what to think.

Would classrooms be better without technology? Certainly not. I don't miss chalk dust and creaky ditto machines. I want my students to be prepared for their future in a world of gadgets that haven't even been invented yet. But, please, oh please, don't judge me for letting kids experience a moment or two without the constant blinking and tingling of technology. Let kids experience, build, tell stories and look each other in the eyes. If only for a moment, let their minds wander, think and be still.

And most importantly, let kids believe that they are more important than devices.