Developing Technologically Savvy Students

The inclusion of technology in schools has undergone a significant and much needed change in recent years. In the early going, gigantic computers (the first one I remember filled a small classroom) were used primarily for programming and touched only a few students. The development of the PC and the Mac triggered a veritable arms race where the merit badge for technology was awarded to the school with the greatest number of computers. Somewhere along the way, we started talking not so much about the numbers but about how computers are tools for students and teachers to streamline their work, etc. Today, we have arrived at another phase in the development of educational technology, which bodes very well for the future.

Many times in my career I have heard people offer a rationale for a certain educational requirement or expectation by stating that it exists because it will prepare students for what they will need in the next step in their educational journey. The list is long and seems to touch on just about everything schools do. Many of the explanations and rationales make perfect sense and constitute carefully thought out building blocks in a student’s education. We have worked diligently at St. Margaret’s to make sure that one hand knows what the other is doing and that our curriculum is carefully coordinated and aligned across the divisions and disciplines to prepare our students for the college experience. The process is thoughtful, collaborative and logical. But it is only a small part of what we should be doing.

Slightly more than four years ago, we developed a vision statement for the school which read:

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School is a diverse community dedicated to developing the whole child. We nurture spiritual growth, an appreciation for lifelong learning, the courage to lead and a responsibility to give to others. Our graduates are independent thinkers of integrity and compassion who reveal their resilience and collaborative nature in the face of challenge and opportunity.

I recall well the intention behind this statement and feel that it is especially relevant today. At the heart of the issue then and still today were the questions: who is the St. Margaret’s graduate and what qualities should we have nurtured in our students by the time they leave our school? Importantly, the statement says nothing specific about preparing students for college or the use of technology. Rather, the vision is broader and deeper and speaks to the enduring qualities our graduates should carry as they head off to lead “lives of learning, leadership and service.”

In a recent publication in the Independent School magazine, Pat Bassett, the president of the National Association of Independent Schools, asks, “How do we inspire our students to be leaders, problem solvers, conflict resolvers, coalition builders, and ‘solutionaries’ in a rapidly changing and increasingly divided world? How aggressive a role do independent schools have in embedding the shifts the country and the world need so that future generations inherit a world that is more peaceful, economically equitable, environmentally responsible, culturally sensitive and globally connected?”

I find myself increasingly drawn to these larger questions and ever more mindful that our job as educators and as school leaders goes far beyond the basic requirement of preparing our students for the next step in their education. Of course this is important but as our vision statement suggests, we see our role as nurturing and inspiring our students to use their gifts as critical and independent thinkers guided by a strong sense of moral and ethical conduct to serve the common good and be leaders in whatever profession or career they pursue to create a more sustainable, humane and just world.

This is a formidable task but it may not be as daunting as it appears. I am increasingly amazed at the creativity and innovative spirit possessed by many of our students and their innate ability to use the technology at their disposal to actually address and even solve profound issues. They are open, inquisitive, thoughtful and creative. We need to capture this energy and provide meaningful and even unstructured, open-ended opportunities for our students to explore the major issues of our time and use their ingenuity, intelligence and technological savvy to raise awareness and develop solutions for today’s problems. I know they can do it. In the immortal words of Bill Gates, it may be just as simple as getting out of their way.