 Not Just Another Math Teacher
By Ralph Tolbert, Educational Technology Consultant ()
Each August for 35 years I walked into a classroom filled with strangers -- students with different learning habits, educational backgrounds and various technological skill levels. My challenge was to make a difference, to encourage, to challenge and to instill a love for learning in my classroom.
Did you notice that I haven't mentioned what subject(s) I taught? That is because the teacher doesn't really teach a subject, but rather a person in the classroom. If you can convince a student that what you know is important to them, then the learning will follow. After a few years of teaching, I realized that not all my students were going to be changed, but if I could change at least ten or more students' attitudes then it would be a successful year.
My name is Ralph Tolbert and I have taught in five different decades in the Niles City Schools -- mathematics at the junior high level for 21 years and math and computers at the high school level for the past 14 years before retiring in June 2002. (I can hear the groans now -- NOT ANOTHER MATH TEACHER!).
My first computer class at Niles had four Apple IIe's and no printer, plopped in a regular classroom, but this also included the freedom to design the curriculum and later redesign the classroom. When I retired, the classroom had 14 Macintosh G3's, two laser printers, two G4's for video editing, air conditioning and track lighting. The courses offered were Math Proficiency, Basic Computers, Computer Science and Visual Communications (which produced the school newspaper and video yearbook). Thank you, Niles, for your support and wonderful students.
Again this August I will be walking into rooms filled with strangers -- teachers with different learning habits, educational backgrounds and various technological skill levels. My challenge as an educational technology consultant for PBS 45 & 49 will be to make a difference in the way you view technology in your classroom and to introduce you to new technology concepts that will help you make a difference in some child's life.
Databases and spreadsheets bore me, computer programming still confuses me, but involve me with the visual desktop layout and design, image editing and especially digital video and editing, and I lose track of time.
Today's students are visual creatures, having grown up with television and special effects in movies, so doing assignments using digital camcorders, digital cameras, editing on computers and creating DVDs is one way technology will allow you to change them. This fall, PBS 45 & 49 will offer workshops on these topics and we will take you through the steps, so choose and sign up. See you at the workshops!
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