Teachers who are redesigning their classrooms to reflect the kind of environment necessary to prepare students for the world of today and tomorrow are struggling against a century of tradition. Vestiges of ages past remain well entrenched in our schools. Perhaps most evident are the policies and structures that emerged during the industrial revolution -- the factory model of schools. We have dissected school into components -- the disciplines. We move students in groups from place to place, whether classroom to classroom within the day or over a course of years, and we "operate" on them by filling them with information. Our buildings are long hallways of similarly designed rectangular rooms that further compartmentalize and factorize (poetic license) the learning process. We break the bigger picture into component skills and then attempt to teach the skills in isolation hoping that the end product will emerge at the end of the assembly line. Our plan books are fancy time cards that note what the teacher will do within various packets of time. Our instructional leaders are even called "supervisors."

In the information age business world of today we find teams of people responsible for designing the whole product and effecting its production. We reject the so-called efficiency of dissecting the process into smaller units in favor of the quality of whole-job responsibility. The job market demands people who can solve open-ended problems, collaborate with others, manage their time, evaluate their progress, utilize a variety of resources, communicate ideas, and so forth. More and more businesses are moving workers into their homes where they must take on the responsibility for completing a project and communicating with others via technology.

These are very different skills from those that are typically addressed in the classrooms of today. If schools are going to better prepare students for the world of today and the world that lies ahead, they must aggressively pursue instructional reform to design environments that build new skills. These skills are not acquired by students when teachers tell them what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and then judge the final product. These skills are not acquired by students when teachers feel they have to first present all the information and then have students demonstrate their understanding of it.

How do you begin to make the transition? The first step is to realize that all of us are learners, not just the students. Just today, a teacher told me that she introduces the consultants to her students as her teachers and she tells her students that learning is a lifetime experience. A "master teacher" is one who is constantly learning and changing to meet the needs of an ever-changing society. The next step is to realize that learning is an ongoing journey that is enhanced by reflection. Take time to stop and think about what you do in your classroom. Decide how each activity, each moment addresses the new skills needed by students. Where you see matches, pat yourself on the back. Where you see mismatches, decide how to bring about change. Realize that your principals are learning too and may not have all the answers for this new type of classroom. So don't be too hard on them if they do something that seems to conflict with your new vision. Realize that your students are on a journey as well. If you try a new approach with them, such as collaborative work, self-scheduling, or self-evaluation, don't expect them to already have the skills. You'll need to begin by carefully teaching them the processes involved in working in these new ways. Most of all, savor the journey !