Moving Away From Tradition

Since I was in college, I have been warned against traditional education.  'The textbook is only one resource', 'don't use worksheets everyday', 'don't lecture for 50 minutes', etc.  For me, the next logical step was to never use textbooks, worksheets, or traditional lecture.

The traditional resources, methods of instruction, activities, and assessments are obsolete in the 21st Century classroom for several reasons.  The Internet provides infinite resources that makes textbooks look prehistoric.  The current generation of students absorb information in different ways.  If students are learning differently, it follows that they should be assessed differently.  The job market requires creative critical thinkers, not industrial manufacturers.  Education should be as authentic as the demands of today's society.  When the answer to any question is 2 clicks away, why should we make our kids memorize loads of information? 

What is the right way to teach in the 21st Century?  I don't know yet; that's what this blog is about, but if you are still teaching the same way you did 20 or even 10 years ago I'm pretty sure that's NOT the right way.  Why can't teachers put together their own content?  Why can't students?  Why not make your classroom into laboratory of learning.  Experiment and share!