Chapter 2 Reflection

The second chapter was a wonderful summary of what is wrong with our current school set up and what changes need to occur to make it better and move us into the 21^st century of education.  One of the biggest hurdles to moving forward is the old school thought brought by administration and the community on how school has worked for decades before.  There is not an understanding by these people on why it is so important to integrate technology into the classroom and to move away from the traditional rows of desk set up in a classroom.  Slowly schools in the nation are changing their layout – specialization academies are becoming more popular, large open school buildings with less restrictive walls are becoming the norm, non-traditional classroom locations are being tested, and technology is becoming standard in all classrooms on a large scale.  When the teachers, students, administrators, and parents are all on the same page with these changes; then great things are happening in these districts with test scores, graduation rates, and student enjoyment in learning.

This chapter was something that I deal with on a daily basis in designing schools.  Each time we meet with the administration at the beginning of the project, there is a decision that is made – what will this school be like?  So many times either the head designer or the administration, or both will lay out the classrooms and the schools like an old traditional school building with rows of classrooms on a corridor with lockers, a media center down the hall, and some computers in far off computer labs.  Each time these decisions are made, I sit back and wonder how a teacher in that environment can make this new attempt at the traditional more collaborative and more 21^st century, especially when she is not being given anything to work with.    Currently I am working with a Vo-Tech that is pushing the limits of what they can do with a 21^st century learning environment and they are allowing me to help them design their school this way.  Teachers are using flexible seating, smaller classrooms with break-out rooms around the perimeter, Smartboards and projectors, group collaboration technology, and other great ideas that will help the teachers and students really achieve something different in their fields.  One of the driving points behind their design is looking at what is currently being used in the fields that they are teaching, and they are trying to mimic that within their classroom instead of just teaching about it.  Students have iPads to use as their textbooks and learning tools and libraries are slowly becoming smaller and more about references then large volumes of material.  It is exciting to work in a school that is making this change and it excites me for the day when I will have my own classroom and either work for a school that is willing to make these changes or hopefully be integral in helping a school make changes. 

It takes an entire community to make the changes to our schools.  The citizens need to vote on the bond issues for buildings and technology, the administration needs to allow the change, the designers need to create a flexible space, and the teachers need to adjust their teaching styles to something new and exciting.  All of these together will help our students enjoy school more and achieve in a way we never thought possible.