Back to the Classroom?

It’s inevitable…the school year begins and I get that wistful longing to be part of the start of the year. I start to miss creating my syllabus, meeting my new students, explaining how our portfolios will work and setting goals for passing TAKS.

That longing for a return to the classroom is even stronger now that I have had the opportunity to see what wonderful options are open to teachers and students through technology. If I were to go back to those hallowed halls of wisdom, learning, and the occasional pep-rally, I could really rock the classroom!

My kids would investigate, explore, and create the most amazing things! We’d use Ning, Audacity, Wordpress, and more to share our ideas and our learning process with the world! We’d collaborate with people thousands of miles away and learn with and from them. We’d make connections between English and all the other classes we’re taking. We’d set goals and track our data to make sure we were on target.

Sigh…I can almost see the bulletin boards and web graphics now. I can see the videos and hear the podcasts. I’m so terribly motivated to get hands on with the students!

Now…how do I take this motivation…and infect MY students – teachers? How do I get this viral passion out there in such a way that they understand that it’s not about ADDING to their already overloaded plates – but about replacing antiquated techniques that don’t belong in our students’ quality worlds, it’s about opening the world to students and letting them explore the content, it’s about a shift from teacher responsibility for instruction to shared respsonsibility with the student for LEARNING.

How do I get this across to my tired, overwhelmed, overloaded teachers whose hearts are good…but whose brains are overflowing, whose bodies are tired, and who spirits are downtrodden?

Anyone?