20/20 in 2020
Winter Staff Development
February 22, 2008
Monday, February 20, 2008 was not just another day at school! Teachers from all over the Nebraska Panhandle gathered at locations in Scottsbluff and Gering for an Annual Winter Staff Development Conference. Garden County teachers and administrators attended various sessions located at the Civic Center, Hampton Inn, Trails West Camp, and ESU #13. All sessions were geared toward enhancing student learning, increasing teaching effectiveness, and addressing educational concerns and strategies in the 21st Century. The conference theme—20/20 in 2020—was a reflection of the following comment by Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon.
Children who begin kindergarten in the fall of 2007 will graduate from high school 13 years later, in the spring of 2020. Their vision of the 2020 era and the challenges our society will then confront must be 20/20. Ask yourself: What sort of 20/20 vision will the 2020 era require?
Teachers not only asked this question, but responded to it wholeheartedly. Preparing students for the 21st century requires skills and teaching strategies that embrace 21st century knowledge and technology. Take a peek at the following video from TeacherTube to get a glimpse of what kind of challenges today’s educators and students face.
