5 of 21

Write now Article Tools

Four teachers sit at the lunch table in the teacher's workroom. Their topic of conversation was the content of their blogs and how excited they were to share these with their students. They mentioned creating podcasts of their classroom lectures to help the students that are absent from class.

You might think that these teachers are fresh out of college sparkling with new ideas that will change the face of education. If so, you have a stereotype about new and old teachers. What you may not have guessed is that the combined experience of all four teachers added up to nearly 100 years of working with students.

One hundred years! What is that noise that you hear? It is the sound of old teachers learning new tricks.

Old teachers can and do learn new tricks everyday. They may not exhibit them in every lesson or even every day because the old tricks are what made these teachers successful.

Teachers should be updating their education constantly. Graduate courses and workshops are taken and are encouraged by school policies and administration. Although every new concept may not be embraced, if the teacher takes one idea or lesson from the class. A new trick has been learned.

A recent class I took was a computer course on Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts. It was a fascinating class and I learned a tremendous amount on setting up my own blog and using podcasts in my classes. Are we still in the process of incorporating these? Certainly. But I definitely learned some new tricks.

Ever sit in a class with 25 teenagers? No two days are truly ever the same. Of course some things never change, but nearly everyday they surprise me with their insight or their responses. They will change how I look at some topic or activity and it will be adapted the next time I teach it. Unlike what most people think, teachers make adaptations to their thinking every time they teach a lesson.

New books and supplementary materials are published and teachers adapt and learn new tricks from these published items. It used to be that textbooks would include the text and a few questions. Now most textbooks include online links to websites that will illustrate key points in the unit.

Other new items in textbooks are graphic organizers, writing prompts, multi-media projects, and standardized test practice. The way new textbooks are set up, it is difficult for a teacher to not change and develop new tricks. It is nearly impossible to ignore these additions to the text.

In this day and age of technology it is difficult for teachers to stay in their boxes. We are expected to incorporate technology and innovative lessons. There are certainly teachers who avoid change, but they can't be faulted for teaching what they know. It takes a large investment of time to adapt new lessons to classes. The key is to add a few new ideas periodically blended with the tried and true successes over the years and before long the new tricks will become part of the old trick arsenal.

Learn more about this author, MJ Suttor.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Can old teachers learn new tricks??
We want to hear your view. Write now!