From "Don't" to "Do"

I am big on New Year's resolutions. Each year I sit down and write out a list of self-improvement strategies that are sure to lead me to success, at least for the month of January. Traditionally I make this list without any outside help, proudly crafting my intricate exercise strategies and flossing plans which inevitably fall through (sorry, dentists).

However, in recent years I have taken advantage of the zillions of New Year's Resolution articles that exist on the internet in order to get a little bit of inspiration about what resolutions to make. Surprisingly, a goofy (and warning: somewhat vulgar) three minute YouTube video was the first to really stick with me in thinking about the simple way I want to change and improve in 2014.  Famous YouTuber Tyler Oakley's  "The ONLY Life Advice You Need" gave an easy, totally followable piece of advice:

 DON'T. Just don't.  You know that thing you do that annoys you and everybody around you? Just don't do it.

Personally, I can immediately identify the don'ts in my life: avoiding tasks I don't want to do, worrying too much about trivial things, procrastinating.  I also tend to limit myself in my own thinking: "I don't have time to do this," "I don't know how to do this," or even simply, "I really, REALLY don't want to do this."

As a college student, I know these are common struggles.  We are entirely overwhelmed with the wealth of information we are immersed in (read: the Internet), and juggling classes, jobs, and extracurricular activities to boot.  This isn't specific only to college students; starting from young elementary ages students are absorbed in this activity and information-heavy culture as well.

How can we get the procrastinating, easy avoidance - the don'ts - and turn it into engaging, interesting work, as students, or as teachers?  I think the simple yet necessary change is to change our perspectives and mindsets from being passive receptors of information to active information manipulators and thinkers.  The switch in thinking of "I don't know how to do this task" to even "I know how to do at least part of this task" is monumental in reducing learned helplessness and encouraging a pro-active approach in starting and completing tasks.

The idea of turning "Don'ts" into "Dos" is possibly the biggest lesson I want to promote among future students, and is also a lesson for myself.  It is so easy to sit back and avoid completing tasks, or think you are incapable of finishing them, or simply refuse to learn.  However, it is necessary and worthwhile to begin actively and thoughtfully completing tasks, and will prompt lifelong learning.

Our New Generation

As a young elementary student in the late 90s and early 2000s, I experienced a classroom unique to that of my parents before me, and my grandparents before them.  I experienced 9/11 when I was in the fourth grade.  "Computer class" was new to the school.  On our early, bulky iMacs, my dad taught my fifth grade classroom how to make simple websites complete with bright backgrounds, tacky graphics, and links to quizzes and other websites.  In 7th grade, our grade participated in Challenge Day, an early introduction to themes revolving around social justice: attacking racism, sexism, and homophobia.

The classroom that I can expect my children to learn in will probably be a far cry from my own experiences in the classroom.  And though it is difficult to predict when the next political uprising or major cultural shift will occur, there are themes and patterns we can anticipate for our future classrooms. Technology is increasing at an exponential rate, and children starting in fourth and fifth grade have smartphones in hand, and Instagram at the ready.  Major political and cultural figures are publicly confronting discrimination, bigotry, and phobia that exists in our society through avenues like Twitter.   We live in a globalizing, expanding world, replete with a constant flow of information and connecting technologies.

What are the implications for our classrooms? How do we incorporate technology in a way that is safe, productive, and innovative?  How do we teach future students to understand, interact, and engage with one another in thoughtful ways?  How do we prepare students for a globalized, unknowable future?  As a future teacher, these are the questions and ideas that are important and provocative in thinking about how to structure the classroom for our new generation of students.