Mr. G – history teacher, narrator
Leah (nee Stilman) – French teacher
Mrs. K – science teacher, Curator of the School Garden
Sage – Mr. G’s daughter
Chantel – Mr. G’s wife
Male Students (in order of first appearance) – James, Hideki, Yuri, Manny, Amir
Female Students (in order of first appearance) – Ana, Sarita, Amara
***
"Okay, great. My students should be arriving in about half an hour. I'll have our multimedia screen ready."
"We'll be ready and waiting here, too," the voice said on the line.
"Okay, thanks again. We'll see you soon."
After I ended the call, a thought (or, should I say memory?) popped into my head. Wow. I almost forgot about that time when Leah Skyped into ... in or into? into, I think? ... our Teaching with Technology course. Rory was talking about how he had just recently been to a wedding, and while there, noticed the youngest generation among all of the guests--so-called digital natives (what was the name of that reading, again?)--huddled into a corner, watching something on an iPad. Was there brick in the background? That transient technology, wearing away, in contrast to the budding youth, one of them a dark-haired girl looking at the photographer, presumably Rory, like when Sage looks up at me if she suddenly becomes aware that I am watching her ... not knowing what will happen in about four days, or is it five ...
"Mr. G. Mr. G. Mr. G! Are you okay?"
"Oh ... uh, yes, James. Thanks for asking. I was just, um, lost in thought."
"Were you thinking about the fishing trip yesterday? That was awesome, Mr. G! I told my uncle, and he said that maybe, sometime this summer, we can go ... I mean, if you want, my uncle told me that I could invite you."
"I'm glad you had a good time, James. It had been a little while since I had gone fishing. And, thanks for the invite."
"You're welcome--Hey, Mr. G, where's the 'DO NOW'?"
"That's a good question, but now that I think about it, you're here, well, a lot earlier than usual for our first-period class today."
"Oh, right. I just had a really good time yesterday, and couldn't wait to get started."
"Well, James, I believe that we have home room first, yes?"
"That's right, Mr. G. I'll see you soon!"
I smiled and waved as James whisked himself through the French doors and down the hall. He's never going to forgive himself for letting Ana beat him to class yesterday, will he? Let it go, James. You're such a great kid, and some things are just not that important.
All right. Let me get the 'DO NOW' ready.
I was typing away, but the thought of that class that day and our discussion on Dewey's writings resurfaced. What did Dewey mean about emotion and ... oh, what did he call it? ... Sentimentalism, I think. Something about divorcing emotion from action. What did you mean--wait, I'm not typing. I have to finish this before James gets back.
I was typing away, but I kept perseverating on that class that we had. Kind of like that kid--what was his name? Ricky? Ritchie?--the Shy Guy in that mental health film from ... What was it? the late 1940's? He was so focused on the idea that he was alone ... What did you mean about emotion being separated, Dewey? Could it mean having kids make an emotional connection to the content? Could it mean giving an assignment that allows students to have fun without learning something? Or, telling kids how awesome something is without helping them to understand why? I think Laura asked that last question. And, who was it that--Wait. Am I using technology properly? I think I'm doing the right thing ... emotionally and socially. Only five days left--no. Well, three days left of school this week, but five days ... All right. Keep typing.
I finished it. The 'DO NOW' was ready. James, come on in whenever you're ready.
Yeah, Laura asked that last question. And ... it was Ben, I think, who helped Leah to Skype into class ... Technology ... the irony ... dividing us from each other one instant, and then uniting us the next ... Leah would probably remember if it had been Ben.
Leah! I never talked to her yesterday about ...
And, at that moment, Leah walked through the French doors, closed them behind her, her eyes a little wider, looking straight at me, not allowing me to escape. "Hey, Alex. You told me that you had something to tell me."
I was sitting down, and I looked away, shaking my head, my eyes starting to tear, my lips and chin trembling, as I tried to get the words out. "I know, but--" I looked up at the multimedia screen and motioned toward it. "I have to--"
There was a knock at the French doors. Leah turned her head, her body shielding my face from whoever was looking through the door. She turned her face back at me, a tear in her eye, which she wiped away. "Okay. Just tell me." She paused, bit the inside of her lips softly, looked to the side, and then back at me. "Is it bad?"
I sighed, wiped away some tears, and just nodded.
"Okay." She sighed, but followed it with a big smile. "It looks like it's time for class, Mr. Griffiths." That smile, just like the one she had at Scarlett that morning before the day that she had to Skype into our class with Rory. I thought that I had heard something in her voice, heard that she might have a cold or something, but she was smiling. I never asked, but meant to ... I should have, 'Miss Stilman.'
I smiled, took in a deep breath, and said, "Thanks, Leah." I nodded again.
"Okay."
***
TO BE CONTINUED
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to know how you think class would have gone had every student Skyped in. I thought about that as I was walking home and really struggled with how to answer it. What would be lost? What would be gained? Would the "efficiency" be worth whatever might be lost, if anything? It is both an exciting and a scary thought.
Weird coincidence: one of the kids in the photo from the wedding is named Sage.
Rory, I've actually thought about that question, as well. Some people have expressed to me that they see the future of education as something that is online in some fashion or another, albeit those mentioned are not all in education. So, it's interesting to think that there is a perception outside of academia that envisions that as a possibility.
DeleteBut, defining "online," I believe, is the key, or at least a major part. Do, by that, we mean Skyping in and seeing someone else's face, as you indicated, or are we talking about watching a webinar, listening to a podcast, simply following a rubric and reading materials online to complete assignments, or a combination thereof?
There is, perhaps, some efficiency if there are physical and extenuating circumstances that might otherwise preclude a student from engaging in something educationally meaningful, as we experienced with Leah, but I do believe that there is something that is lost when there is a lack of proximity near and physical presence among others. There could be happy mediums, so to speak, with something like Skype. And, Skype could be used as one way of introducing more people to students, locally, nationally, and internationally.
But, if all students were to Skype in individually on a regular basis, I believe that there would be something lost if those students never met at all. I haven't tried a group Skype. Is it possible for students to Skype and see each other as well as the professor/teacher? There is, I think, a strong possibility that certain visual and physical cues would be missed, although students might be able to hear intonation and inflection. The lack of some of this could very well impact the path of conversation(s) as it could when people text each other. Excluding the use of emoticons and certain acronyms that are part of text-speak, how could someone really know and/or appreciate the meaning behind someone else's actions and words? How could they even truly know with emoticons and text-speak?
On a different note, to what extent could someone learn dancing moves, trade skills, and various other competencies by simply talking with and/or looking at someone through a screen?
Maybe a balancing act, rather than a wholesale adoption of one practice versus another, would be the best practice for the future of education.
Alex, this is great. It's such a unique paradigm to use on the content of our class. Our classes thrive off a future-oriented paradigm, so much so that I haven't, for a moment, considered what all of this look like in retrospect. Will the things that we are discussing today be irrelevant? Will what Rory suggested about a whole class skyping into a lecture be the norm? Will that have an even more damaging effect on the "Shy Guy" stereotype? What might that do for the social aspect of a child? This is definitely a vantage point that I'm going to consider as we move forward in the program, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know that your blogs put me on edge, a good edge of anticipation. It's still very interesting how you are able to incorporate so much of what happens during the day into a story such as this. I will also change the questions being asked in the comments above. In college it's perfectly acceptable to skype into class. Do you think this will ever be allowed in secondary schools?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Vi! I think that Skype might first be used to make school-to-school student connections. In fact, an Italian teacher at the last school at which I taught did that on occasion. In hindsight, I wish that I had tried that for my classes, at least once. But, as for students Skyping in on an individual basis, I would think that students would be allowed to Skype in if they had an illness that could adversely affect the health of the school community. Well, if a student was healthy enough, I could see school policy permitting a student to Skype in, but not requiring a student to Skype in. Or, sometimes parents take their kids out of school because of the fact that parent vacation time does not coincide with the school calendar and preset holiday/vacation schedules. I remember a student who left to travel to India (for a full month!) because of a family obligation there. Perhaps Skyping in, even if not every day, might be a healthy compromise.
ReplyDelete