Take Your Class on a Mission to See the World

The problem with students and technology today.

If you have been a student at any point in your life, you know all too well that education as we know it today — the work we put in to educate the young minds of the world — is unfortunately more lesson-centric that student-centric. With requirements and incentives like standardized tests and GPA minimums, it’s no surprise that we have found ourselves here, in a position where the easiest default case is to teach to exams and follow a cookie cutter lesson plan. But, as a changemaker, you know that just because something is easy, doesn’t mean it’s right. And in the case of education, we need to execute a bit more of that ‘grit’ that we are trying to instill in our students, to push forward change and inspire the young minds of the world to dream big and fulfill their potential.

The tricky thing here, when it comes to affecting change in education, is the delicate balancing act that occurs between technology and the classroom experience. It is 2017, which means that technology-enabled teaching officially surpasses what was previously provided in the classroom with just chalkboards and textbooks. With laptops, tablets, and smartphones in hand, the students of today are more connected and tech-savvy than ever. Which means that schools must not only keep up, but stay ahead of the technology trends to continue opening up the minds of their students in the classroom. When a student is not in the classroom, she is what we like to call the ‘protagonist’ of her own digital story, in full control of what she technology she is interacting with, be it video games, social media, or other apps. However, in the classroom, it is up to the teacher to guide and activate these young minds.

The disconnect between the classroom & the real world.  

To this day, if you are given an exam or a quiz, the problems are presented to the student with almost 100% of the data needed to solve it. And of course, there is a clear right or wrong answer. However, as adults, we know that this is rarely the case in real life. Real life has no right or wrong answers, it only has actors. Real life has no assignment completion grades or test scores, it has collaboration and the pathway to success is paved by way of small, tangible goals.

Current educational models do not adequately prepare students for what will happen in real life, as they do not provide any room for learning through failure. Mainstream education does not  create excitement for the unknown. It does not set a wider mission that motivates students to achieve these smaller milestone goals.

Here, is where we come in.

Teachers, prepare to take your class on a mission.

At 100mentors, it is our goal to help every teacher find a mission for their students, to drive an inspired search for knowledge and answers (some of which, may not be there… and that’s alright). While mainstream education is still siloed (by subjects, class periods, quarters), real life is not. And with a tool like 100mentors, you can bring mentors from the real world straight into your classroom to show your students who they can become when they broaden their horizons and take ownership of their futures. With 100mentors, you can empower students to embark on a lifelong learning mission.

 So, where do you dream of taking your class? We have a few ideas. How about to…

1. Mars, to send the first students to outer space with a NASA scientist?

2. Africa, to educate an entire village with the director of education at a non-profit?

3. Seattle, to build a website with Microsoft engineers?

4. Or back in time, to create a movie for the history of math with an award-winning cinematographer?

Example: How a computer science class embarks on a mission to launch a personal website.

Let’s do this.

Join us in our goal to empower the world’s youth, and take your students on a mission to explore the places listed above and beyond, with the help of the world’s brightest minds. Educators using 100mentors have replaced regular classroom lectures and assignments with a “Classroom Mission” curriculum, where they empower their students to connect with mentors from across the world (from NASA scientists and Google data scientists to Hollywood cinematographers and New York Post Editors, and more) to expand their learning — and life — horizons. So, what do you say?

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