Teacher Recruitment

I have always said that I could solve the teacher shortage. It is simple, start by doubling the salary. Then you will start to get some people interested. But, we all know the likely hood of that happening.

I was just at the NCAECT conference, which focuses on technology in education. While a collegue and I were discussing a session, she said "That's why you left education. You weren't having fun." I don't remember the reason or even what we were talking about, but it was at that moment I realized that was reason I left. It took me three years to figure that out.

Now, I really didn't leave education. I just left the classroom for the Technology Department. One of the first things I saw in my new job was a Smart Board or Activboard. I was impressed. In fact, I said "I would have taught another year if I had one of these in my classrooms." Since I am in the under 30 crowd we pretty much grew up with technology. This is even more true with the younger generations. Plus, in case you didn't get the memo, computers are cool now. So all this got me thinking...

If I am fresh from college...
fresh from facebook...
fresh from im converstaions...
fresh from skype calls
fresh from video chats
fresh from campus emerged with technology...
fresh from carrying a laptop...

Why in the hell would I want to step back in time into a classroom...
with no wifi
with no lcd projector, just a marker and an overhead projector
with no laptop, just a desktop with Windows 98. No you can't use yours.
with no IM
with people who refuse to or can't use email
with a strictly filtered internet.
with a campus whose big technology push was going from chalk to dry erase markers

Maybe younger generaations aren't going in to education and are leaving education because they are digital natives trying to teach other digital natives with analog tools. Doesn't sound like to much fun to me.

education, technology, instructional k12