MATTHEW  ISOM

      It's interesting that I'm finishing up a Master's degree in Information Technolgy in my 24th year of teaching.  To fully understand why I would do this, it's important to understand why I chose to teach in the first place.  My mother and father were both educators--my mother teaching at North Salem High School and my father at the Willamette University School of Law.  And so I grew up in a family environment marked by intellectual curiosity and a drive to share and explain ideas--in particular, to share ideas that change one's view of life and what it is to be a human being.  In college, after toying with the thought of heading to law school, I realized that what I wanted to do was to help students explore the world of ideas.  My first stint as  teacher was at a school named "Realms of Inquiry" where the school motto is "Life is a high-spirited adventure."  I was an idealist in virtually every definition of the word, and I absolutely loved helping my students learn to see more clearly, feel more deeply, and to head off on the adventure of living a full life.  Sadly, the pay and benefits at Realms were simply not enough for me to raise a family, so I entered the public edcational system.  

       I feel conflicted as look back over 24 years and regret that my best years as a teacher were my first years two years at Realms of Inquiry, This was due, in large part, to the fact that we were encouraged to creatively design curriculum based upon the idea of facilitating independent student learning geared toward standards that they chose as a student body, not standards imposed by the state. This led to a focus on creativity, integrated studies, and frequent field trips for hands-on experience. As you might imagine, entering the public school sector has been an adjustment and I have often felt that we're not meeting the creative needs of our students.  Other teachers report similar feelings. I've come to believe that the public educational system is fundamentally flawed. All students are slighted, especially our most interested and our brightest.

       So, what's the answer? Web 2.0.
My hope is that in the last third of my career I will be able to return to a student-centered approach to educating my students.  I want them to feel empowered as they create products and move into the real world as they break free from the confines of the brick and mortar classroom. The power of technology tools can enable our students to effect change. Finally, these tools can help students find passion in the public school classroom, largely because these tools take students beyond the brick and mortar walls that surround them and into all 196 million square miles of our world.