What If...

Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on their slates which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!

Teacher’s Conference 1703

Students today depend on paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?

Principal’s Association 1815

Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.

National Association of Teachers 1907

Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.

The Rural American Teacher 1928

Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant.

PTA Gazette 1941

Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.

Federal Teachers 1950

You can’t use those calculators on the test. If I let you do that, you wouldn’t ever learn how to use the tables in the back of the book and use interpolation to figure out your trig ratios.

High School Math Teacher 1980

We can’t let them use calculators in middle school. If we do, they’ll forget how to do long division or how to multiply three digit numbers by three digit numbers. What will they do when they don’t have access to a calculator?

Middle School Math Teacher 1989

Why are you writing a grant for a classroom set of graphing calculators? We’ll never be allowed to use them and – even if we can – that’s only one class, and parents in other classes will never buy them for their students.

High School Math Teacher 1993

Why would you ever want the Internet for student use? It’s just the latest fad – have them use the library.

District Employee 1995

You don’t need a web page for your school. Who’s ever going to look at it?

District Employee 1995

Teachers will never use .

Teacher on a District Committee 1996

Why do you want network drops at every teacher’s desk? You’re not thinking of getting a computer for all of them are you?

Building Administrator 1999

What can you do with an LCD Projector that you can’t do with an overhead projector?

Member of School Accountability Committee 1999

Why are we talking about students having laptops? I don’t think most parents will even give their kids their old computer, much less buy them a new one.

Member of Laptop Committee 2000

Why would I want to put my grades on the web? Who’s going to look at them?

Teacher 2001

I don’t think we’ll have a wireless network in our schools anytime soon.

Technology Coordinator Spring 2005

Turn off and put away all Cell Phones, iPods, and Electronic Devices during class!

Signs around a high school Fall 2006

What If... We’d listened?

What does West Lee Middle School need to be successful in the 21 st century?

1 To 1 Laptops Wireless Internet Greater Bandwidth Newer Switches Infrastructure

Digital Cameras SmartBoards Camcorders Microphones Graphing Calculators Hardware

Orchard Software to provide individualized instruction Software

Scores will not rise overnight

but, will rise.

$500,000 is a lot of money

How much is a child’s future worth?

Priceless

With a shared vision of all students becoming productive 21 st century citizens…

and shared goals of developing curriculum activities that incorporate global communications,

cooperative learning and collaboration,

and developing life-long learners….

We can’t afford not to take the leap!

Let’s not leave any child behind.

What if….? By Karl Fisch

Additional text Danita Russell