Skynet in the Classroom: Terminating the Boredom

Hello reader!

My name is Kyle Edwards, one of the few survivors of the dreaded JYI Program, almost to its end.
I've already clocked in countless hours of observation in high schools, with teachers from all walks of life and with many sets of skills that they bring into the classroom.

Technology is constantly changing, and its adaptation into the classroom setting is often gradual, but once initiated, becomes part of the standard norm. Long gone are the days of the Typewriter, and even computers and laptops are starting to take second wheel to the spike in tablets.

Everything is constantly moving forward, and faster at a rate that forces us as teachers to adapt to the times lest we become the teacher walking in Day One with PowerPoints on our Windows 95 Software once the dial-up kicks in.

I believe technology as far as its use in the classroom, should always be used to advance a lesson plan, and not become the crutch that teachers become too heavily reliant on. Technology should be implemented in a way that is almost seamless, something that truly captivates the engagement of students and spices up the lesson plan, like the small touch of Wasabi that gives that Sushi Roll the "kick" that it needs.

The most ineffective way of using technology goes back to the idea of using it as a crutch. Watching movies on a projector to fast-forward the slow parts of Romeo and Juliet for example, is a negative. However, using Tablets to bring up multiple charts and class-anonymous opinion polls on specific texts can be advantageous. It allows the bridge between modern social media and classroom education to coexist in a way that provides for a fun lesson plan, and not a ho-hum conundrum that will just serve to bore and frustrate the class.

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Myths are seen as the universal binding contract between our place in the world as human beings and our own habitat involving the planet as a whole. We as a species have always tried to use creation myths to explain our very presence, and whether our purpose has any tangible meaning. When I was creating my own myth, about the rise of Jack-O-Lanterns and why we carve them, I felt like it enhanced the study of myth by narrowing in my focus. I had to zone in on just a few details that I wanted to flesh out, and leaving a bit of mystery and ambiguity to the reader to figure out on their own just like many creation myths. It became a worthy challenge to pick and choose what to omit and what needed to be mentioned. Overall, I had a lot of fun creating my myth, and I think that even today we create myths all the time without even knowing (like the White Girl Starbucks example).

For future teaching, I would argue that creating a myth allows the class to expand their knowledge base and truly explore the world we live in, and the customary practices we all partake in doing. From why we wear baggy shorts when playing basketball instead of tight short-shorts, to why we feel the need to place candles on celebratory cakes, there is endless opportunity to allow students to explore critically the idea of a myth. Then at the end of class, tie it all together by explaining the bigger picture; that if we can use myths for fun, imagine the power of myths all throughout time in explaining the unexplainable.