Week 4

Standards...Sometimes, i feel like it's a dirty word. It brings to mind a bar that everyone must reach and you don't reach it at the same time and in the same way that everyone else does then you must be a failure. For teachers, if your students fail to grasp the concept, not only have you failed them, but you have failed the futures of the individual student and the world. But, if you take the time to look at the standards and what they are really meant to be you begin to understand that they aren't meant to oppressive iron thumb, but rather a golden goal to reach for. This week, in class, we have been reviewing technology standards that have been set forth by organizations, such as ISTE. Honestly, sometimes i think they don't go far enough, but i realize the difficulty in setting such standards. I also see the difficulty of creating curriculum to reach such standards. Many of these are basic ideas that, i personally believe, that a student who doesn't grasp it will not be able to function in our ever growing technological society. How can you compile data without knowing simple formulas in excel? If you don't know how to conduct yourself online, you might find yourself singled out, or embarrassed beyond belief on a global stage. A global stage that won't die out within a couple of days, but that will kept as a record for a lifetime and beyond. It scares me when i see people graduate without those basic skills.