This is not an anti-technology blog....
As I sit here with my laptop plugged into the wall, watching my big screen TV, with the lights on, I am struck by something Brian Williams says on the TV..."it takes the luster (sic) out of the upgrade from the i phone 4 to the new i phone 5 when you can't plug it in and charge it."
Nature has brought huge sections of the most populated cities in our country to a screeching halt. Lower Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Jersey Shore have reverted back to a time before Thomas Edison. They are on night number four without electricity.
How many times have we or someone we know spent hours putting together the perfect lesson plan for the day but relied on technology and then, the technology failed? In a slight state of panic they ask, "Now what do I do?"
On the other hand there is the mayor of Newark, NJ, staying in contact with the people of Newark via Twitter. A tweet generates a phone call (yes, direct from the Mayor), which leads to help and a hug. Wow! Now that is a Mayor and the power of technology.
What is my point? A simple one. While we learn all the new gizmos on the market and see how great all the new technology is, don't forget there is nothing like the power of the person. The power of the teacher in the classroom.
Kids are scheduled to return to school on Monday. There may be some old school teaching required in many towns along the East Coast.
Lesson #1 -- Technology can do some amazing things in the classroom, but it always pays to have a backup plan! Lesson #2 -- You are right, with or without technology, the role of a teacher as a person with the power to guide and to value every one of her students is priceless . . . and that is power that cannot be unplugged.
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