“Education can be encouraged from the top-down but can only be improved from the ground up”
– Sir Ken Robinson
I found this blogpost 14 things that are obsolete in your schools by Ingvi Hrannar Ómarssona , an Icelandic elementary teacher early in 2014 and posted it to a school blog to provoke some thought. I re-read the article recently and was struck that for many schools there have not been many changes since then.
Here is the list:
1)Computer rooms - how many times have you heard teachers say they can never book their students into the computer room...
2)Isolated Classrooms - once that door is shut...
3)Schools that don't have WiFi - or perhaps now in 2017 robust WiFi with easy access for all students.
4)Banning Phones and Tablets - (how many schools still ban phones in class?)
5)Tech director with admin access ( and is the only one who knows the current WiFi password/organising the guest password/works part time/is the classic gatekeeper!)
6) Teachers who don't share what they do - I am always so grateful to teachers who share ideas via Twitter, Eduignite, Educamps, teachmeets or better still from the classroom next door!! So many of our colleagues think that they have nothing of value to share - how wrong they are! Check out Hack your classroom
7) Schools that don't have Twitter of Facebook - If you want to find out how a Principal used Twitter to change his school then you need to read Eric Sheninger's book Digital Leadership:Changing Paradigms. Loved this TEDx talk as well! Lots of schools use Facebook as an information feed for parents/students and as a way to celebrate success.
8)Unhealthy Canteen Food - There are many schools that have fantastic healthy food for their students, if there are schools that don't - it just isn't acceptable, no excuses!! Lots of schools also have vegetable gardens and students are learning how to grow vegetables.
9) Starting School at 8am for teenagers-
10) Schools that do not cater for diverse learners. A learning disability hinders a student's academic and personal growth. It is our job as teachers to find out more if we need to and help our students be successful.
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