Discovery Education Speakers Bureau

This presentation entails discussion and recommended instructional strategies for rethinking 21st century education--the needs of our students, the needs of our teachers, the expectations of administrators. How can we now meld the canonical, or traditional, with not only modern writers and non-traditional writers but also the new technologies and our tech-savvy students with sound, robust, rigorous, and engaging instruction? How can we assure ourselves, our colleagues, our administrators, and reassure our parents that we will produce the critical thinkers necessary in today's challenging global society?

What are the factors in selecting works for contemporary, digital classrooms? The forthcoming national standards for reading and mathematics--the Standards of NCTE and IRA will force education to make important decisions. Using Mark Twain as an example, explore the relevant questions of which texts should remain in state curricula and which should not and the rationale behind an intelligent decision. This session explains the changing nature of 21st century students--their perspectives, their expectations from classroom teachers and core content areas--in this case, ELA and social studies--and our responsibility in this new instructional paradigm.