Now that we have come to the start of our leadership careers, the reality that education in the 21st century is nothing like we have experienced, nor dreamed of before, is beginning to sink in for most of us. We are faced with the challenge of keeping classroom education relevant in an era of lightning-speed access to any information one can think of. The Internet generation should be considered a special generation of students because of the way their access to information has given them the chance to become wise beyond their years. Our task, as educators of today and tomorrow, is to ensure that the students of this era will not rely solely on fast and unconfirmed sources of information. Our main goal is to find the halfway point wherein the information found on the Internet can be safely used to augment whatever shortcomings will be found within the textbook and classroom discussions. This way, students will actually have a well-rounded and relevant education that has not only theoretical but everyday applications as well.
In order to succeed with my plans, the instructional climate that I will create for their learning should be conducive and open to exploring various ways and means of getting an education. I will make it my duty to ensure that they learn how to properly resource material from both books and the Internet and set up guidelines by which they can analyze and decide upon the accuracy and relevance of the material they are using themselves. Meaning that information both from textbooks and the Internet will be acceptable provided that the student displays that analysis and research were actually involved in this educational process.
However, in order for my educational vision to succeed, I will need the full cooperation of the teachers and staff, students, parents, and school district officials. Their acceptance of the fact that education these days must be updated to include the acceptance of technological advances in the field of education and research, and therefore, being open to change will certainly help build a new learning climate for the students. We will all have to cooperate and understand each other’s stand in order to be able to come up with specific teaching guidelines and student instructional handouts which will clearly define how the educational system shall unfold.
As the person in authority in my building, I must take on the role of the effective leader by conducting consultations with my co-workers regarding topics that affect the overall, and daily functions of the building. I will be a leader who has open lines of communication with the others who share the building in order to ensure that the rapport between its inhabitants will consistently be conducive to student learning and teacher creativity.
My teaching philosophy is one which I took from Peyton Williams, the president of the ASCD in 2003. He said “We must give more attention to the interplay between the science of teaching – pedagogy – and the art of teaching… A teacher must be anchored in pedagogy and blend imagination, creativity, and inspiration into the teaching-learning process to ignite a passion for learning in the student.” We have never had a more eager-to-learn generation than these Internet-generation students. As teachers, we must learn to build upon this eagerness and use it to our advantage for it will make the teaching process easier and the learning process, more fun for the student.
Education is now played on a totally different playing field and yet the art of teaching has not lost its relevance. The only difference is that now, teachers are not the only educators. Teachers now serve as intellectual guides as well and should therefore know how to best use all of the teaching aids and instruments presented. before him or her in order to keep a student interested in classroom learning.