It is interesting to learn how far behind some schools are in relation to the world of technology and what is being used in the business world out there. When you go to work each day you are forced to keep up with technology because the company you work for would go under if they didn’t. It is just the nature of how things work today. However, if you take some time to visit your kid’s schools you may be very surprised to know that the types of technology in schools are lagging way behind the real world.
A prime example: a counselor at a junior high is going to invite some people to come to the school and present at a day they call career day. This is a chance for the students to be exposed to all kinds of different professions and learn what really is done in those jobs so that they can start thinking about what they would like to do when they grow up. The counselor, who has been using postcards in the mail for the last twenty years because that is the way they have always done it, is amazed to find how slick things went when he used email for the first time to send out invites instead of the postcard. Now email is behind the times and the counselor at the junior high is just finding out how convenient it is. The reason this is the case in large part is because of the limited technology they have been given to do their work and so, since he has worked there for the last twenty years, has not been forced to jump on board with new technology.
The types of technology in schools needs to grow rapidly if we want our students to be better prepared for the real careers they will face. We are doing a terrible disservice to them not to find a way to get the latest technology into the schools. Of course, you hear of some examples here and there of schools using iPads and things of that nature, but the truth is those examples are usually a class, not a school. Funding is tough in a tough economy, but technology needs to take a larger priority in our schools funding. There are countless reasons why this is the case, not the least of which is the preparation of our students for the business world they will face.