Life in the 21st century will clearly involve technological know-how in virtually every profession, including traditionally blue-collar jobs. While our students are masters of the cell-phone, they are remarkably lacking in other technological skills.
My students are amazing human beings.
They are kind and generous beyond measure. Too often people tell me they would never work with teenagers because they are self-centered and clueless. However, once you spend some time with students, you find that they are often giving and hopeful for the future. I can't imagine a greater group to work with on a daily basis. Our school is a squarely working class school. Parents here care about their children's education and do their best to provide for them, but often at a deep cost to themselves. Families here often work multiple jobs just to stay afloat and live paycheck to paycheck. If students have their own materials, it is often at the expense of something else the family may need. My students understand the value of hard work and we frequently outscore other, richer schools because of that ethic. I'm proud of them.
My Project
As a working class school, we don't receive additional federal funding that is designed for poorer schools. As a result, we suffer from a type of reverse inequality. We don't have access to the technology that other schools routinely access. We are working hard to become a Google school and seek to teach students how to better leverage technology to their advantage. I share a Chromebook cart with 12 other teachers and use Google Apps for Education regularly. We also have our BYOD program where students can use their phones or tablets on campus. However, not all students have access to smart phones, leaving them at a clear disadvantage in class. I would like to have a few Chromebooks in my room for those students to use and share. We use these for presentations, essays, tests, checking daily work, submitting assignments, and I hope to expand my use of technology in my room.
It's remarkable to think that kids who are as attached to their phones as they are daily lack technological awareness.
However, they lack the knowledge of the technology and the fortitude to figure it out. Having even limited access will give them new skills that will serve them in college and beyond into life.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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