Karl Fisch is a teacher at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado. His video “Did you know?” has been seen by millions on YouTube and is in its third edition.
I decided to take David Warlick up on his idea of telling the new story. I put together a PowerPoint presentation with some (hopefully) thought-provoking ideas. I was hoping by telling some of these “stories” to our faculty, I could get them thinking about – and discussing with each other – the world our students are entering. To get them to really think about what our students are going to need to be successful in the 21st century, and then how that might impact what they do in their classrooms.
Check out his original blog post and the website set up to help teachers think and talk about this video. Having problems? View this at YouTube.
This is the most mind-blowing presentation I have ever seen. At my age (76) I’m not sure I can deal with it. Today’s kids WILL deal with it, but the real challenge is for the teachers of these kids. Somehow, they will have to teach today’s children how to deal with things that they cannot really imagine today. It will take GREAT teachers to give these children the tools to deal with tomorrow. Probably the key items children must learn are humility and INTEGRITY. With good mathematic and science skills and knowledge, humility and integrity will rule the day. Hurray for teachers, but parents must be involved.GO SCIENCE! GO MATH! GO HUMILITY! GO INTEGRITY! And thanks, teachers.
I think Mr. Donavan hit the nail on the head. How many of our current problems would have been prevented if our culture put more emphasis on humility and integrity over cleverness and pursuit of individual wealth?
I am constantly blown away by the expansion of technology and its influence on our lives, but I have to say that Mr. Fish’s wide eyed awe at technology and the global economy might be overstating things a little. If our current economic troubles continue the foundation upon which this global economy was built will erode.
I think I might rather know how to grow food than work the internet in a few years….
THANK YOU JOE DONAVAN! From a teacher : )
A few weeks ago, I listened to a speech by Karl Fisch and he showed us his latest version of “Did You Know?” at the “Schools To Watch” program at Russell Middle School in Colorado Springs. He is incredibly inspiring and funny! I am going to implement a new wiki reading program in my classroom, entirely inspired by Karl and a teacher that he works with at Arapahoe High School. I’ll keep the community posted on how this attempt progresses and how my students respond to it.
As a teacher in and of the 21st century, I strongly believe that we must educate our children about current technology and its possibilities, and I plan to do just that. However, technology will never replace the feeling of holding a book in your hands, smelling its unique aroma, and diving in…so grab a book and someone you care about and READ!