Are you a meerkat or an ostrich?

You may be thinking what I mean by that title. In fact, that's the title of a very engrossing article I've read by Steve Wheeler. He is an Associate Professor in Learning Technology in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society, at Plymouth University.

In his article, Wheeler writes about the uncertainty about our students' future. Everything changes so rapidly nowadays that jobs existing today, will probably disappear in twenty years’ time. That's a highly problematic issue for teachers in that they do not know what to teach or if what they are already teaching is going to help students in their future life.

We (I consider myself a future teacher) want to help our students to become self-sufficient people, we wish them to be successful in their future jobs, but at the same time we don't know what is going to happen in the near future. We are shocked constantly to hear news as regards politics, economy and education that threaten us when it comes to teaching. What teachers used to teach some years ago now is old fashioned.

As the author expresses, we find people that turn a deaf ear to this uncertainty and those who try to be constantly updated, improving their own skills at teaching and offering innovative tools to students. As the professor says, "Whether we are meerkats, looking out and anticipating the challenges, or ostriches burying our heads in the sand, the challenge remains, and it is growing stronger."

The author advises us to create environments in which students can be exposed to negotiating, to practice new communication methods through the use of new technologies and not only via face-to-face conversations. That's the only way in which teachers can help students to be independent men and women: generating propitious situations in which they find the tools for solving problems right now and in their future.

"Will you be looking out to see what is on the horizon, or will you hide your head in the sand?"

To conclude I share a well-known phrase that I think we can't forget as 21st century teachers:

"I never teach my students. I only provide the conditions in which they can learn."

Albert Einstein

Here I leave you the link where you'll find the article in case you would like to read it:

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.ar/2013/05/are-you-meerkat-and-ostrich.html

Regards!!