"Did You Know" response

    First, let me start this post by saying that the "Did You Know" video was pretty eye opening! Even though the video was more of a glance of Iowa public schools, I believe Florida public schools can learn a thing or two from the video. It is true that in this day and age of technology, it seems that education has taken a step back. Personally, I try to incorporate technology into my classroom as much as I possibly can, but without enough funding and  one tech guy with what seems to be a million tech requests, it is hard to keep up with the students idea of technology.
    In regards to the discussion, "Are we doing what is best for our students, or are we doing what is most convenient for us?",  I have two things to say. One, I am in my first year teaching, which means I am bright eyed and my youthful idealism is still intact. With that said, however, it sometimes feels that administration is trying to snuff out that flame of excitement by dumping more and more nonsense on a newbie trying to stay afloat. I am not "administration bashing" because we all know what rolls down hill and they have to do what they have to do, I just wish there was more of a fight then everyone worrying about the guy on top saying "your services are no longer needed". With the amount of work that administration has to do and the amount that educators have to do , I can see how doing what is most convenient seems like the logical choice in regards to our sanity. As fellow educators and administrators, I believe that we need to reshape our focus and do what is best for the students and step away from what is best for the "State".
      Number two, tying this back into our course on technology, sometimes technology can be used as the more convenient way out of a lesson. For example, for those of you who have a smart board, it has a lot of bells and whistles and sometimes for the kids, that is all it takes to keep them behaved. It is important to use technology in education for the sole purpose of helping students become critical thinkers and successful individuals.