One of the more challenging sides to my job is finding time to spend with our students. As a way to meet this challenge I’ve arranged to have lunch with some of them during the final weeks of school. I was at Tustumena Elementary and Soldotna Middle School this week and will be in Homer later in the month. While my conversations with the students have been polite and a bit stilted, they did offer me a chance to learn about what they think about school and what they are looking forward to after they graduate. So far, the students have all been complimentary of their schools and for the most part, had a hard time responding to my question of what they would change about their school.
The most meaningful part of the conversation for me however, has been discussing technology. I asked each student if they had a cell phone and then if they did, whether their phone was a smartphone. While most had cell phones, only a few had a smartphone. They all agreed however, that having a smartphone in class would be a help. But in the same breath, they cautioned that it would be difficult to do this because of the distraction that the phones present. The 7th grade students were anxious to move in this direction of phones in class while the 8th grade students who are headed to high school next year assumed that this would soon happen there. The students also shared that they regularly use technology in class and that homework for the 8th grade students required them to do research using the Internet. Finally, I learned that Facebook is passé and is for old people while Instagram is the medium of choice to stay current with what is going on.
My take away thus far is that the selected students are well adjusted and like their teachers and school. They find their school work to be challenging, but not too difficult and they are looking forward to moving on to a new larger school.
Facebook is for old people
One of the more challenging sides to my job is finding time to spend with our students. As a way to meet this challenge I’ve arranged to have lunch with some of them during the final weeks of school. I was at Tustumena Elementary and Soldotna Middle School this week and will be in Homer later in the month. While my conversations with the students have been polite and a bit stilted, they did offer me a chance to learn about what they think about school and what they are looking forward to after they graduate. So far, the students have all been complimentary of their schools and for the most part, had a hard time responding to my question of what they would change about their school.
The most meaningful part of the conversation for me however, has been discussing technology. I asked each student if they had a cell phone and then if they did, whether their phone was a smartphone. While most had cell phones, only a few had a smartphone. They all agreed however, that having a smartphone in class would be a help. But in the same breath, they cautioned that it would be difficult to do this because of the distraction that the phones present. The 7th grade students were anxious to move in this direction of phones in class while the 8th grade students who are headed to high school next year assumed that this would soon happen there. The students also shared that they regularly use technology in class and that homework for the 8th grade students required them to do research using the Internet. Finally, I learned that Facebook is passé and is for old people while Instagram is the medium of choice to stay current with what is going on.
My take away thus far is that the selected students are well adjusted and like their teachers and school. They find their school work to be challenging, but not too difficult and they are looking forward to moving on to a new larger school.