Dreams of the Future
By Jen Haberling2008-2009 Michigan Teacher of the Year
Insiders know, teaching is one of the most demanding professions out there, but it is also one of the most rewarding.
Teachers are passionate about the job they have before them and the relationship they have with the students who share their classrooms. Now, more than ever, teachers are being asked to achieve monumental tasks of preparing all students for a future we cannot comprehend. The speed at which our knowledge and technologies are expanding is incomprehensible. Right now, estimates pronounce that information is doubling every two years, but that is nothing compared to the projection that by 2010, in less than one year, information will double every 72 hours. We cannot even begin to imagine what our world will look like in ten years, fifteen years, or even more. It will certainly not be the same world in which we prepared to teach.
But we can rest assured that out students will still need to be thinkers, problem solvers, and creators. They will need to look beyond the boundaries of their families and communities into the wide world. They will need to be able to communicate their ideas in complex and persuasive ways. They will need to understand what makes a healthy relationship and know how to make a positive difference in this world we are racing toward. Teachers can prepare students for this future. While the information students need to know will change drastically and the technology they need to work with will evolve, the skills they will use to process this information will stand firm - they will still need to know how to problem-solve and work in collaborative teams; they will still need to be able to communicate effectively, and imagine and create; they will still need to be able to listen and understand others with differing viewpoints. Teachers are up for this demanding job! We are excited to peer into the future and prepare for it - one foot firmly planted in the certainty of the now and one foot venturing into the exciting prospects of then. The students who will be engaged in our classes in the years to come cannot wait to get there, so with them we will go, inspired and impassioned, on the cutting edge yet wise because of our history, revising and recreating, effectively imagining anew the possibilities.
Because of the global outlook today's teachers must adopt, collaboration and creativity in educational theory, policy, and practice are necessary. Teachers work collaboratively among all of those involved in making decisions about the future of education. We cannot allow ourselves to be isolated from one another or disconnected from the conversations relating to our profession. In order for our students to better learn, we must work together, sharing our ideas and voicing our concerns. Educators need to be an integral part of this future. We need to be proactive and research savvy. We need to adapt to the changes that are coming and plan for the students we will need to reach.
This will take a group effort and creative thinking. We cannot isolate ourselves if we strive to improve and better prepare the students we will have in the world as it may be in coming years.
