On my first visit I started to notice things being, well, WAY, different. We watched a movie about the USA's dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The quality of the video was outstanding. It was a reenactment of the lives of several people all woven together. The story unfolds of characters on the ground in Japan as well as from the American flight teams that flew over the Japanese city that day. It was so interesting to hear and be reminded of our history. My mind, however was doing a quick comparsion and going back in time.
Back in time to "then" meaning when I was in school. OK, so it was a while back. When we watched a movie somebody (usually a trusted student) was chosen by the teacher to go to the library - that's what we called it then - now it's the media center. Anyway, trusted student would then wheel the projector into the classroom and set up the film and the projector. If we were lucky, the threading of the film into the projector went smoothly and within a few minutes we were watching the image on a pull down screen or maybe the concrete wall above the chalk board.
The image today is a much different as well. Then it was a crackly, spotted, film filled with dusts and debris and who knows what all. Today, a movie is simply downloaded from YouTube. Fabulous quality. Digital. It is synced from the desktop of the teacher (yes they are stilled called teachers) to the projector that is hard wired from the ceiling. There's an on off switch for projector mounted on the wall and some even have a fancy remote control. The downside is it takes a second or two for the projector to power up. Today students grumbled that they had to wait on the movie to download. You know, it took maybe 10 seconds, literally. You think this is what they mean when they call us an "instant" society?
Also books being read aloud to the classroom has also changed greatly. I remember with such fondness hearing my teacher read to us. I will always remember 4th grade and having Mrs. Fite read OLD YELLER. What I remember the most was the sweet rhythmic sound of Mrs. Fite's voice. Some days it was clearer than others. Some days it was almost raspy. Today students (or at least some of them) listen to books that are professionally recorded. Now, it's a crystal clear recording. Digital. Again. I am not, by profession, a teacher. I think that part of the fun of being a teacher would be reading aloud to my students. In a way, reading aloud is like acting. You get to play all the parts. It's a "show" of sorts. You put in all the emotion; the laughter, the tears, the disappointment and the joy. Best of all you can enhance the story by using the inflection of your voice.
Also books being read aloud to the classroom has also changed greatly. I remember with such fondness hearing my teacher read to us. I will always remember 4th grade and having Mrs. Fite read OLD YELLER. What I remember the most was the sweet rhythmic sound of Mrs. Fite's voice. Some days it was clearer than others. Some days it was almost raspy. Today students (or at least some of them) listen to books that are professionally recorded. Now, it's a crystal clear recording. Digital. Again. I am not, by profession, a teacher. I think that part of the fun of being a teacher would be reading aloud to my students. In a way, reading aloud is like acting. You get to play all the parts. It's a "show" of sorts. You put in all the emotion; the laughter, the tears, the disappointment and the joy. Best of all you can enhance the story by using the inflection of your voice.
Once as a substitute teacher in Mrs. Steed's class I had the pleasure of reading aloud to my students. The scene was from "How to Fight a Girl." The young boy in the book had ridden a mini bike and practically run over his mom's foot. She was wearing house shoes. She was livid. I read that scene in my best mad, frustrated, livid mom voice. As I put the book away one of my students told me, " your read that mom part real good." I sort of mentally patted myself on the back when I realized I liked the acting part of reading. As I was checking out at the office that day imagine my surprise when Dr. Singleton looked at me and said, "I walked by and heard you reading." My heart stopped. She continued, "I thought you were talking to one of the children and then I realized you were reading." HORROR! I sounded SO MEAN. And she let me come back and sub again and again.
Today students are very well connected. Connected to electronics. Cell phones, iPads and Ipods. They are everywhere. Students want music in their ears constantly. What's funny is they don't understand how it is very evident to an adult that the music is still streaming into their headset. The first clue is that it is LOUD and we can hear it. Second clue is the nodding of the head back and forth to the beat of the music. They are so surprised when it is brought to their attention to turn off the iPod. And then there's the constant texting and requesting to use those cell phones.
All we wanted to do was chew gum and not get caught.
Today students are very well connected. Connected to electronics. Cell phones, iPads and Ipods. They are everywhere. Students want music in their ears constantly. What's funny is they don't understand how it is very evident to an adult that the music is still streaming into their headset. The first clue is that it is LOUD and we can hear it. Second clue is the nodding of the head back and forth to the beat of the music. They are so surprised when it is brought to their attention to turn off the iPod. And then there's the constant texting and requesting to use those cell phones.
All we wanted to do was chew gum and not get caught.
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