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schools.”
If you visit Mooresville you will find that they do
not buy textbooks anymore, and they do not have
copy machines or paper. They have digital learning.
This district really has changed “teaching” to
“mentoring.”
I remember doing a Podcast interview with a
Eureka Middle School math teacher, Mrs. Tignor,
who had changed her math classes to a “flipped
classroom” approach. What Mrs. Tignor told me
during this interview had a major impact on how I
view the use of technology in the classroom. She
said, “In the past I might personally talk to four or five
students during a class period. With this approach I
talk to every student every day. I have never had so
many students doing this well in my classes.” How
powerful is that statement?
If we have to increase class sizes to generate the
amount of savings districts will need to generate in
these times of decreasing resources, then we must
find a different way of teaching students. Technology
and “flipped classrooms” are not the only solutions,
but I have personally visited classrooms like these
and I have been amazed at the work of both the
students and the teachers.
In no way am I advocating that class sizes be
increased. However, during these economic times
when increased class sizes will occur because this is
the only solution that can cut large amounts of
expenditures then we need to figure out how to
educate students better with fewer resources. Now is
the time to start this conversation in your school
district. I do not see a pot of gold at the end of the
rainbow.
(Continued from page 10)
