An Old Email; A Timeless Message

In doing some digital housekeeping, I can across an email I had saved as a text file nearly twenty years ago when I was a young administrator in my first role as technology director. In reflection, it's a rather verbose attempt to express my core beliefs regarding the need to make a difference each year for every student. There is no "next year" for us to act; there is only today.

In the years since I sent that email to my colleagues, technology has presented many opportunities. Indeed, anything is possible--other than time travel--for our scholars. And I continue to wonder in what ways are we framing opportunities for all students to use tools of their choice, both digital and non-digital? How successful are we in our shift from teaching (adult centered) to learning (student centered), and empowering our scholars to experience the joy of self-directed learning and inquiry? Do we continue to approach learning much in the way that we had been taught, waiting for next year to reshape our classrooms and our pedagogy?

In the years since I sent that email, many teachers have retired and many have entered the profession. The same is true for administrators. Are they using today's resources to engage learners? With regard to tools, we've moved from desktops, computer labs, modems, and local networks to a device for every student, anytime/anywhere access to learning, broadband, and cloud computing. Our students (can) interact instantly via videoconferencing available on virtually every device, collaborate with anyone in the world on documents and projects, and experience places and modeling through VR and AR tools that were merely a kernel of an idea five years ago!

And eighteen years later, in what ways have we transformed--for the current generation--what it means to be a student? It should look quite different than 2015, 2010 and certainly 2002.

Is this change a priority and reality, or is it something we'll get to next year?

-----Original Message-----
From: John Krouskoff [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 9:57 PM
To: 
Subject: A non-technical reflection


Good evening,
I have been doing a fair amount of reflection on what it is we are
trying to achieve by integrating technology with education, and what
hurdles we still need to leap.  I suggest that it is our responsibility,
as advocates for the effective use of technology in education, that we
continue to focus on how the technology can positively impact the
students in our district.  The logical extension of such reflection is
to question how each of us can help those we work with "make the
connection."  Most of you have heard my personal (automotive) metaphor
related to motivating our
students by meeting them in their world with technology.   Bear with me,
as the rest of my comments have really nothing to do with technology,
but everything to do with purpose.

I recently heard a comment that any organization is perfectly organized
and is dedicating the proper balance of resources to achieve exactly
what they have traditionally been achieving.  What must we change to
avoid getting the same results this year?  We are all hard working and
want the best for the students we teach, but what are we doing
differently?  If we're not doing anything differently, it is foolish to
expect different results.  Such considerations is often uncomfortable
time consuming. 
Unfortunately many of us are so busy doing all those things we have to
do to continue achieving (essentially) what we have in the past, that we
don't take the time to contemplate the significant potential for
positive change that is currently available to us here at Tarrytowns.  I
would ask you to reflect on the following two points:

1.  Our reading scores are horrendous, but it's worse for our students
than it is for us.  To us, it's a high number of ones or twos, but we're
trying our best and will continue to do so.  However, to those in that
category, it means the likelihood of a life of low literacy and all the
limitations that implies... not just for the few years they are with us,
but for the rest of their lives.  We can coddle, encourage, point
fingers...in short do any of those things we might likely have done in
the past...but we must not be surprised when the end result is nearly
the same.  We are all working at full capacity, but the result, for many
reasons, is often substandard.  What can we do differently?

2.  Students in general often complain of a "disconnect" between what
they are doing in school and what's going on in the real world.  If we
asked our students, for example, what does it mean to be a teenager in
2002, the answers would be significantly different than they would have
been ten or fifteen years ago.  Have we considered what areas we can
change in our classrooms to meet these students in their world?  What
heights could they reach if they felt connected in ways we may not have
even considered?

With the above comments in mind, ask yourself the following questions, 
"What can I change to improve the educational experience of each child I
work with?" "What can I do to encourage those I work with to consider
the questions above and work together to discover ways to address those
issues?

I propose to you that we are ready to address these complex issues in a
substantive way, one that will impact many of our students for the rest
of their lives.  And although it may be an uncomfortable reflection,
what does it mean if we choose not to act?  What if we wait for a year
because we're too busy right now (as we all are) and cannot make a
commitment to professional growth due to any number of reasons?  For us,
it means little.  Yet next year we'll be as busy as we are this year, if
not busier.  But next year we'll have different students, and the
opportunity to impact those we currently work with will vanish.  I
encourage you to look at these children and reflect again on the two
points above.  We all mean well and want the best for them, but how can
we transfer those ideals into action TODAY?

Regards,
John