Teaching Across the Bridge

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Showing posts from August, 2022

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Vanessa Lynn Betty: I've been a middle school teacher since 2002 and have been teaching "across the bridge" for over twenty years. The bridge to which I refer is the bridge of instant access technology, communication, and gratification. As a member of Generation X, I grew up and was schooled without access to any instant technology other than the party-line phone and antenna-accessed TV in our house.When I began teaching, there was a computer on my desk to access email and enter grades. There was no online grade book for parents to see whenever they wanted, and emails were answered after school. Students participated in discussions out loud, got their lesson materials from an overhead projector, dry-erase board, and books and paper. Today's schools have transformed so much that my 2002 self would not recognize them. But I have taught ACROSS the bridge that connects these two ages, and exploring how that bridge got us here and how we can navigate our way from here is the purpose of my blog.