Education is like....

            

Education is like a ship, or should be!  An old ship, one of those that has been restored in the 21st Century.  It has the bones and structure from the past and all of its history.  It is moving forward towards the horizon to new, bigger, and better things.  It is push by changes in society, new technology, and the ever changing world (this would be the wind in the sails).  It is rocked around by new educational policies and changes (the waves), but keeps moving forward.  And it has had a variety of passengers and continues to have a variety of passengers on board...all of which contribute in different ways to making the ship change and move.

Education is something that cannot ignore anything.  Education cannot ignore policy changes, changes in the economy, changes in technology.  Education cannot not just close its eyes to new ideas or new opportunities.  Education cannot hid in the closet from students coming from other countries, low income families, language learners, or special education.  Education needs to embrace it all, make it work as one system and keep moving forward.


    From this class the biggest thing that struck me and I will take with me moving forward is that understanding of differing ideas.  This was the underlining theme in all of the readings, assignments, and my fellow classmate's blogs.  Education is a world were almost no one sees things the same way.  Education is not black and white, teachers live their lives in the grey (or gray as some might say).  Whether is be a debate of how best to teach special needs students or how to teacher students about social justice...no one fully agrees.  And they don't have to.  Each teacher can create his or his own classroom environment around their own beliefs and ideas.  The common denominator in all of this is to help form students into understanding learners.  Expose students to different things, the best way that we can and in the best way that they learn.  Expose them to the many different aspects of this world.  Teach them how to learn, where to learn, and where to turn when they need help learning.