What happens when we student bloggers aren’t students anymore? A question that suddenly popped into my head a couple of weeks back, and it’s been niggling away at me ever since. I mean, what happens when the small amount of students who write blogs, with their own individual views on education, aren’t in school anymore? When they aren’t in the loop, when they have moved on to college or university or are just members of the general public? When they have no real connection to the matter at hand anymore?
The easiest way to answer it is the blunt way: If we don’t get successors then nothing will happen, the student opinion will be gone from the loop completely. Which would be a very sad outcome, seeing the pre-launch reaction to this blog. Most of the students on this blog will continue posting after leaving school, just as I will, but that’s not quite the same. We will be posting from a different perspective, we will have moved on, to college, or university, and some of us might just take the leap straight into the big, bad world. Seeing this new point of view does definitely have its advantages, but the opinions from inside the school walls, the opinions from those 20 or so teenagers in the classroom will always be the most important in my eyes.
So how do we get these successors? Well, it’s something I think this blog can really help with, I hope that the next generation of students can be shown what is possible, through their teachers, and be inspired to take it to the next level. This blog is, for me, a tool for both educators and students. Educators can come and hear what the silent majority actually thinks, and hopefully they will take those thoughts and find a way to incorporate some of what we talk about/suggest into their own teaching.
After all, that is how I came to be here. I was introduced to the use of web 2.0 in the classroom by my old English teacher Mr W. I realized how much it really can impact learning, and so I began my blogging quest! As for students, this is a tool that they can use to interact with educators, to see that the student opinion counts for something, and to provide a place where they are treated as an equal.
But what happens to us? the student authors bringing you this blog. Well, that’s not really up to us. It all depends on our readers and the value you give our views when we grow up, go to college, and (eventually) stop sponging off our parents and get jobs. At the end of the day, this will change our perspectives and almost certainly our views. The educators will always be here, as educators blogging about education, but the students won’t. We may still blog, we may even still blog about education, but we will be college students, musicians or businessmen/women blogging about education. I suppose the point I’m trying to get at is this: will this perspective matter to the edublogosphere?
Personally, the only time I can think of our future opinions being directly applicable is when we become parents. But does this mean our opinions will cease to count from after high school until we have children? I’d hope not, because education is universal. Everyone is constantly learning and has opinions on education, even those who have no connection to a school building. I suppose I can can relate it back to a T.V. advert that was running a few months back in the U.K. saying “if you don’t do politics, you don’t do much.” In a lot of ways if you don’t do education you don’t do much. The world is all about constantly learning something new and passing on your own knowledge to others, a school is just an institution that brings order to the process. Basically, all views on education should have some degree of importance, even if some have a greater value. It just depends who you believe is worth listening to.
As for us, it’s up to you, our readers. Do you carry on listening, and taking notice regardless of our position in society or do you move on and put full faith in the next generation?
Your call.
The Bass Player.
- Photo by Misterteacher on Flickr
I think you all will always have a voice when it comes to education. Education is what binds us all together and connects us. If the educational system is going to be brought into the 21st Century, it is going to take a consistent and sustained effort to make the change. Your efforts both now and in the future are going to be a huge part of the transformation that I hope to see take place during my teaching career.
Scott
Perhaps your blog will spawn offspring. Yes, we’d still like the original concept of students (grades 8-12) sharing their ideas, but there’s a place for college bloggers, and all other types of learners to share their voice also (there was quite a conversation being conducted by graduate distant learners, not too long ago).
Education will continue to be an issue in your life: as a parent, taxpayer, perhaps even as a teacher or Board of Education member.
You perspective may change, but we still need to hear the voice of your generation, as we will need to hear the voices of succeeding generations.
After such a stunning beginning, how could we bear to lose track of all of you!
diane
I think this blog will continue to evolve: both as the individuals themselves evolve and the blog itself evolves. Hopefully, we will continue to encourage quality student writing—even after we are no longer students.
It would be an immense shame to lose all the quality response we have received already.
This blog is not a unit of study! It has no end. It’s a real-world project geared toward the real-world work of improving education. You and your teammates are putting the soul into the machinery of this blog.
And it just struck me: when you move on, you don’t have to move out. All you have to do is move “rooms” - from the “posts” to the “comments.”
That realization makes me smile. There will always be a place for all of you here.
Great job on the video, Sean. I hope you share more of your music with us, your thoughts on the role of music (or lack thereof) in education and learning, and anything else that comes into your very creative mind.
Now grow that beard back
Education is generally focused on the present school year. Teachers are focused on their little kingdom of curriculum. When students leave their classroom, we generally don’t have very good correlation from one grade level or class to the next.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if students were assigned an email and portfolio/work space when they enter kindergarten and that space and information followed them throughout their career. Talk about giving students access to web 2.0 tools.
Congratulations on your post... You should always have the future in mind whenever you start an endeavor in life. If it isn’t worthy of a future goal, than perhaps it isn’t worthy of the present. Clearly this is worthwhile and one you should keep an eye on the future...
Hey... Can you say Mentorships and Future Guest Bloggers?
This needs to get mainstream and then it will definitely take off. In a world there are so many people, so many voices, generations of kids to be heard. Blogging has become a quick and powerful form of communication when taken seriously. I hope it stays that way with the evolution of the internet and web 2.0
I am in Year 7 at school (11 years old) and I love using widgets and everything! I guess people generally assume that students aren’t capable of making blogs, wikis etc. so they don’t use them in their classrooms.
I believe that teachers should make the change from worksheets and excercise books, to technology and teaching computer literacy. Our parents and teachers are the last generation to choose whether or not they will be computer literate, and if they chose to not be, their students will be unprepared, for the future. Children and teenagers nowadays have to be computer literate. Almost every occupation and career will require skill and knowledge, to do with using computers.
Almost every student I know, prefers using computer programs to complete excercises and activities. The days of activity sheets, excercise books and textbooks are over. We ALL should make the switch to computers today!
I personally believe that having an ‘e-Portfolio’ is a much better option, with the choice of a paper, or internet portfolio. With an e-Portfolio, you can have people from all over the world look, comment and give feed-back on your work. With a paper portfolio, you are restricted to having a ‘triangulation’, teacher, parent and student, maybe a relative or two to look at the folder.
The big difference between an e-Portfolio and a paper portfolio, is the fact that paper portfolios are filled with assesment and test results, but an e-Portfolio rather has feed-back, or feed-forward. I would prefer to have feed-back and what I could do better next time, rather than a selection of test results. The point of tests is to see how you have improved, but why not improve by receiving feed-back and feed-forward from students, teachers and parents alike from all around the world?
Cheyenne
You seem to be a very strong proporter of e-Portfolios and write very well on them.
Perhaps you would like to be a guest poster on our blog? Maybe write post upon ePortfolios, a subject you are obviously passionate about it. If you would be interested, please email us at group@students2oh.org - we’d love to have you on board.
Thanks for stopping by.
And as you move on into college, I hope a subsequent iteration, maybe the “College 2.0″ blog, serves as a tool to inform and motivate your university instructors as well
A great and thought-provoking post... but I’m going to ignore what you say for a minute to highlight one of your commentors, namely Cheyenne.
I don’t know what they’re doing in New Zealand, but it’s definitely working... If you Students2.0 folks have any sense (and have looked at Cheyenne’s online presence) you’ll realise that the future is going to take care of itself... and you’d better get Cheyenne signed up as soon as possible because if you don’t you’re going to have a serious rival!
Great conversation!
Diane: I also believe that there will be a place for college bloggers, and I think that these college bloggers could also contribute well with the high school side of things. I’m glad you think that we will always have a say, I would love to continue blogging on the subject in later years, and as Clay says below, we will certainly still be here with the power of comments.
Arthus: Thanks for the response dude! Evolution happens all the time, with everything so in that respect it is inevitable. I hope so too, quality student writing can be very inspiring... even just reading all your guys posts inspires me. This is something I would hate to see lost at any point in the future.
Clay: I’m so glad that we are paving the way, anything to make the future easier for student bloggers is a boost. Thanks for the sentiment Clay, I will always be here posting comments of support... and of critiscism, as both are very important.
I will try sharing more music, and video... if you guys will have it! And I will try and bring my “creative mind” to use with this project as much as I can. Thanks Clay, I shall note that post idea.
The beard is on the mend...
Unfortunately, I’m replying in school and that’s the period finished, so I will have to reply to the other comments later in the day. Thanks for all your responses.
BTW, I can understand that from your perspective we teachers seem like a permanent presence, but don’t forget that we too come and go - we just hang around in schools for a wee bit longer