The Progressive Teacher Vol 06 Issue 01

Since the teachers play a major role in
education of children, their own education
becomes a matter of vital concern.
Teacher education must, therefore, create
necessary awareness among teachers
about their new roles and responsibilities.
Education of teachers needs to strengthen
and stress upon the main attributes of
a profession inculcating the intrinsic
and extrinsic values of professional
competency, professional commitment
and professional ethics
Teachers of futuristic schools have to
shoulder more responsibility in the
digitally distracted world. In order
to keep up with technology and the
ever-increasing global infrastructure,
educating teachers and students on cyber
ethics becomes critical.
According to Norton, “acceptable
behaviour on the internet is very
much the same as acceptable
behaviour in everyday life.” But the
new vocabulary of “cyber ethics”
is catching many older teachers off
guard, requiring a crash course in
internet communication. In order for
students to receive that education,
each teacher needs to go through
adequate training in order to provide a
solid foundation to each student.
School learning environment must
essentially be “inviting, respectful,
supportive, inclusive and flexible
for student success”. The adult-child
relationship has to be more religiously
re-visited so that every school provides
an environment in which each child
has positive, nurturing relationships
with caring adults. The school must
promote a healthy, active lifestyle
where students are encouraged to make
responsible choices.
Learning environment in futuristic
schools, as an aligned and synergistic
system of systems, must encompass
creating learning practices, human
support and physical environments
that will support the teaching and
learning of futuristic skill outcomes.
Further, it should support professional
learning communities that establish
a culture of shared leadership,
collegial relationships, and support for
constructive change and diversity and
enable educators to collaborate, share
best practices, and integrate 21st century
skills into classroom practice. Such an
environment fosters learning tailored to
the needs and wants of the individual.
Presently, more often schools have been
silos of isolation – classrooms isolated
from other classrooms, teachers isolated
from other teachers, schools isolated
from the outside world. Research
shows, when people are connected
through technology or collaborative
arrangements, their effect are multiplied,
for communities “can accomplish goals
that would be impossible through more
isolated efforts”. Experts say futuristic
learning must take place in contexts
that “promote interaction and a sense
of community that enable formal and
informal learning. John Dewey long
ago conceived of schools as “miniature
communities” that mirrored the social
relations and activities of the larger
society in which they were set.
Schools cannot close the achievement
gap without partnering with families.
The most effective “parent involvement”
is distinctively marked by the factors
viz. all parents have strengths and know
they are important; all parents can
contribute to their children’s education
and the school; all parents can learn
how to help their children in school; all
parents have useful ideas and insights
about their children.
To summarize the learning environment,
quote of ‘A New Day for Learning’ is quite
apt, “What counts is not the time spent in
the school building, but the learning that
the student masters.” Futuristic learning
environments promote this integration of
formal and informal learning, for “when it
comes to learning, there is no final bell”.
16| www.progressiveteacher.in