The Crash Course

The “Crash Course” was definitely a lot of information. It was sometimes overwhelming and a little confusing, but mostly it was pretty interesting. The news is always telling us of the economic crisis our country is facing. When Chris Martenson first made the comment that “the next twenty years will be nothing like the last twenty years” I didn’t really grasp what he meant. However as the movie went on it became clear that there is no way that we can go back to where we came from. Everything is changing at such a rapid rate that we have to rethink what we are doing and what we expect from the future.
As a teacher I feel that the economy affects our teaching because it affects our students. I teach in a small rural district and I know that they are feeling the pinch of the hard economy. My principal tells us at every faculty meeting to be aware of parents who are out of work. They are stressed and don’t always know how to deal with it. Then you also have the students who are coming to school and need to get away from the stress at home. Some come without having eaten, they don’t have clothes that fit and often are not clean when they come to school. This offers a whole new set of issues to deal with. I often feel like a mother to my students and to some of my parents. They need guidance and they often look to me for the answers. I know that is something that I was not taught in college!
I hate to think of the grim possibilities for the future, but would rather hope that we can see our way out of this mess and come up with a new way to deal with our economic crisis.

Apple ipad announcement

Steve Jobs announced the apple ipad today. This is a handheld computer device. He showed how you can view websites, email, play games and read books on it. It has a virtual keyboard and you can navigate websites by touch.
This new technology will definately have an impact on students and teachers. It seems to me that it will enter classrooms in the way of text books and as personal computers. It is small (only weighing 1.5 pounds) which will make it easy to carry.
Since books, newspapers and magazines are becoming less popular using this ipad will make a different avenue for the information that we usually get from the newspapers, books and magazines.