No Future Left Behind

[jbrad1211]

I'm bored is just an easy copout phrase for middle schoolers. If a picture or sound continues for more than 6 seconds then it is boring. They need activities that increase attention span. I had my first graders listen to the entire Adagio for Strings, without any visuals or movement, and not one student fell asleep or disrupted the listening. Afterwords they talked about how the music affected them. One student said the music made him think about his dad.(who had recently passed on).

[LoveVanillaRose]

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE

[jck0120]

Interesting. The students complain they are bored and that school should be more like a game, but this video repeats the same thing over and over. It is characteristic of our times that middle school students think adults should listen to them. Everyone today undervalues education and experience. I'd like to see them dance and play their way to supporting themselves and contributing to society. (I have a Ph.D. and I know I don't have all the answers).

[funnyman14691]

i dont get it

[NancyStuewe]

Yes education needs an upgrade but we need to stop bashing teachers and start giving them the experience you are talking about with these kids. What we are asking of them, they do not have to give. The system they live in today will not allow them to learn. Start by allowing teachers to gain the experience with these new tools and stop blocking them in school.

[DrSkatter]

I dont normally leave comments but this is a great video!

'i cant create my future with the tools of your past' = Fantastic! I find the topic of 'net gen' fasanating @ 1st I didn't believe there could be such a differenec between generations, 2 years later I see the difference is HUGE HUGE HUGE god its like generation Y (dont take this personal) are a bunch of apathtic consuming zombies who cant see past the rotten carrot at the end of their nose! VIVA LA REVOLUTION cos NET GeN R HeRE!

[MrJenni102]

Provocative and Engaging!  I pass it on.

[sandy3rdgrade]

This great! I will share this.

[Holyfire10000]

i go 2 this school LOL

[KnowclueKidd]

You both make a valid point about length, one that has been made several times before. Considering this video was created as a keynote presentation, one might say that it is remarkably concise. Still, in response to all the feedback, we did ask students if they were willing shorten the video for mass distribution. Their response was quite poignant. They wanted to know why they had to listen to teachers for 6 hours a day but teachers couldn't listen to them for 6 minutes.

[gaberoonie]

@KnowclueKidd @KnowclueKidd More confrontational than poignant. Creating a condensed version seems a small price to pay in order to get the message across... that said, this is for me one of the most powerful and memorable YouTube videos of all time, and I continue to show it wherever and however I can. When the revolution comes, and it will come, this video will have played a major role! No joke.

[StruvSMS]

23000+ views and counting :)

[OneTimeGirl10001]

Great job

[StruvSMS]

21500+ views, finally the governor of New York catches a look at it...

[AxcelKaru]

I almost forgot i'm in this. lol. almost 2,100 views!

[paddyfward]

I am a teacher and I think that this is one of the most important contributions to education in a generation. We need to understand that the way we have been teaching is irrelevant to the digital generation. Great job, to all of you! I make everyone I talk to watch this! What should we do next? This is the first step...

[StruvSMS]

Can you believe that in not one year, this video has over 20,000 hits? Incredible isn't it? :)

[japaneseblackbabe13]

oh darn i didnt think i wudb on a video tht i didnt wanna be in! this is so embarrassing my friend seen thuis and laughed at me for an hour thanks for less than nothing sms!

[StruvSMS]

19,000...brings me to tears sometimes ;)

[Xearafe]

Great job!

[llalama58]

This is a phenomenal video that should be shared in all schools throughout the USA and the Global Society! Your students should be commended as well as the Tech Club and the teacher! I am going to share this with the faculty in my school! Thank you! Lori Lalama

[StruvSMS]

18,000. I'm still holding out for reaching 20,000 by the end of October :-)

[StruvSMS]

17,000 to kick off the new school year :-)

[StruvSMS]

16,000+ views, Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to watch this video, it means a lot to all participants :-)

[StruvSMS]

Hey Ms. Porter! School starts later in September for me, freedom still left in the wind :-). How have you been? Seems like forever since we last saw eachother :o

[BernajenaPinazzo]

Hey Strv - YOU would be counting - miss you - how is your new school?

[AmericanRuffian]

Who is the audience? Instead of showing this to teachers, why not show it to Barack Obama and Arne Duncan? THEY are the two that need to see this!

[ironcrownz]

I work in libraries and am also sharing it. Teen spaces in libraries -- the biggest and best funded -- ARE answering the call of the future. We do NOT have to teach to the test and we're trying very hard to be where they are, and to trust and enable them. There's a reason today (Nov 14) is National Gaming Day @ Your Library!

[StruvSMS]

15,000 views :-)

[mrsjtech]

A techer from Maine made sure to share YOUR vdieo with the large group of teachers meeting in Boston to talk about teaching for the future - Your future. I was so happy to meet your teacher and thank her for your video, but she said it was you who should be thanked.

Great work, very inspiring and I hope other teachers will be as moved as I was.

[classacteach]

...and my hat is tipped to you, to all those who have inspired you (civil air patrol-yay)  and, dare I say, there was a teacher in there somewhere! Best of luck and fair winds in your journey!

[classacteach]

Not at all @unitedairsoftteam- this is EXACTLY what was intended--CONVERSATION, constructive debate, and VOICE! The last point I wish to make is that this video HAS moved political and legal wheels- It has been shown to 3 state legislatures, in a Governor's address, to countless school boards etc. In my world, there is no such thing as over-zealous! Thank you for sharing your thoughts...

[unitedairsoftteam]

Im sorry if it seems that I am trying to criticize or slander this video or group of students,im not. I just got into the heat of an intellectual conversation. ( in a way this instills a passion for intelligent conversation, once again not dealing directly with school but still inspiring to me ) Once again im sorry if I came off as over zealous on discussing my views.

[classacteach]

These students DID take the initiative - by creating this video --and the result is that it is being viewed by educators all over the world. You are obviously a person who has passion, self direction and ACCESS-- Not all have the opportunity to discover their passion, the access to investigate and explore it, and the guidance to harness the tools that will get them to where they need /want to be---We as educators must afford those opportunities..

[unitedairsoftteam]

I see that they did take initiative to bring this subject to light and did a fantastic job at it. Although this is a good first step to positive movement in schools toward freedom in technology, It still does not move any political or legal wheels towards its goal. True, not everyone has the opportunities that have been presented to some, educators in many cases try their best to allow students to explore and find a passion, but it should also be a private matter. Truthfully my ...

[unitedairsoftteam]

...passion that grew upon me, aviation, was in no way influenced by my schooling . People can fall into their passions or wants on accident. The yearning for education on a certain subject can be cultivated in school and in private. If a student doesnt have acess to the internet or like recources there is still the public library, or free youth programs ( such as civil air patrol, in which I participate ) which are not affiliated with school, but can instill a sense of passion nonetheless.

[unitedairsoftteam]

Well, as a 15 year old freshman ( in a few months...) Im sorry but this is a torn subject. At school the teachers are bound by politically correct rules and are not allowed to pass their preset boundaries( you can thank the liberal Dem's for that ) but there is a deeper battle here, censorship. If one person decides to go and do something wrong or illegal on a school computer the school is responsible for that persons actions. I wish it could be a perfect world, but its not. Deal with it.

[classacteach]

I would hope that a person your age would not be resigned to the inadequacies of the system- but rather would claim your rights and use your voice within the system to afford those much needed changes! This was the spirit of No Future Left Behind!

[unitedairsoftteam]

I recognize that there are flaws, but there are those who just dont care about their education. If students dont want to take the initiative to learn on their own time to get ahead in their own method ( internet ) then the student obviously needs to get their act together. There is a line between trying and failing and not caring. If you cant motivate a student who doesnt care I can't give my sympathy. This is the greatest country on earth, if they dont want to take initiative, then their loss.

[classacteach]

Congratulations to SMS and The Elizabeth Morrow School--You've hit 11,000 views! Think about the impact your voice is having....Time to get busy on next video? - Ms. Sheehy

[coolcatteacher]

Rewatching this video -- so proud of what they did and looking forward to seeing you at NECC!

[StruvSMS]

12000 Now! W00t!!!!!

[IluvTheDoctorsOnCBS]

Personally, I believe that MySpace and Facebook should be blocked because that is used purely for social networking. But, I think YouTube should stay because there are a lot of documentaries in YouTube that History classes use, and what's wrong with listening to some music? Also, things like Facebook and MySpace do take away time from work. You can get easily distracted.

[StruvSMS]

Yes, that can be the case, you can get distracted by social networking sites. However, what if you were SUPPOSED to use them to connect with others and collaborate? Getting distracted while doing this would be like getting distracted while doing a worksheet lol.

[tech70a]

MySpace completely spoiled pure "social networking". If they would make a interface that wouldn't allow for the background music, the crazy CSS layouts, etc... and then maybe add more collaboration tools (Google Docs interface, standard Twitter / RSS / Podcast feeds, etc) I think kids would value Social Networking for what it is "supposed" to be, not for the shiny facade and loud music. But as it stands, unblock it and they'll spend their time playing on it and posting inappropriate pics :(

[StruvSMS]

Yes, adding more collaborative tools would make it more school appropriate. However, (and bear with me, I've never used MySpace) what if the kids CREATED the loud music for a music class and other kids needed to critique it? Or even develop the site for a class? I somewhat agree with the pics but if the teachers monitored them, it would be like doing it in a notebook that's being collected.

[firagafox]

i go to their school!!

[Brian54540]

0:24 i totully agre dude cas dis vid is right on man totally right agree 100% and a haf .. blocking is good man stuff on the internet is nat rite, usually.

[StruvSMS]

@gaberoonie - I personally believe that the video's message could be reconveyed. Possibly in a different format or even just an even more cutdown version, but the message should be fasable to convey in a short amount of time. Back to keeping it, us students sit around for 6 and a half hours a day, possibly even more and teachers won't sit still and watch what the future of education should or could be? Come on people.... :) Keep discussing! You guys are bringing up a LOT of interesting topics.

[StruvSMS]

@gaberoonie

This video, when first put together was even longer than it is now. Our wonderful editing team, Ms. Malmstrom and Ms. Sheehy did a wonderful job of cutting off around 3 minutes of footage while still convaying the same message. If we cut down even more, will some of that message be lost? I'm not saying it's a bad idea, Public Service Announcements tend to be shorter and still have an impact similar to this. (continue in next comment)

[StruvSMS]

Hello everyone,

Interesting comments so far, I'm just going to correct a few things (in multiple comments). @Liblady50 We expect better because we know that the human race doesn't just sit around and do nothing. We evolve, we adapt, and we solve common problems as best as we can. The current education system is one of them. If we can't fix it, it shows that we as people, as creative and innovative as we can be, don't give the kids a chance to prove (contines in next comment)

[StruvSMS]

@Liblady50 continued

that we can do more than sit in a classroom and do work for 6 or more hours a day.

@Lo7usBlossom

I agree with you almost completely. Kids need to see that their futures are changing with each passing day. However, we have the tools, but who's going to show us how to use them? Ourselves? Adults still need to put in their part and give us that little "extra push" and get us going. After that, who knows what'll happen :).

[StruvSMS]

@NorthWestMale

School Internet is regulated for a good reason. It keeps students from straying from work and from going onto sites that, if harmful to students, could hold the school liable. However, websites are still banned for a very bad reason. Websites such as Facebook and Myspace, although they don't contain 100% educational material, provide students with kid to kid communication. Collaboration exists on those sites and collaboration is one of the keys to remolding the educational system

[Liblady50]

The kids did a great job. I think the future will be great. This 'google generation' is awesome- - just go to a musical perfomance, student art show, etc. and you will see that the future is in excellent hands. BUT

I don't HAVE to give any student anything. A future, funding , whatever. My education was boring and inadequate - whose was not? Why would this generation expect anything better?

[Lo7usBlossom]

Students do not need our permission or for us to give the future to them. They do need to start taking ownership of their future. You young people already have the tools, you can organize on your own. Don't wait for schools to reward you for what you learn/create/do in the digital world, you'll be waiting too long. The biggest danger is not that schools will become irrelevant to students but that they will become irrelevant to the future.

[NorthWestMale]

School Internet use is regulated for a good reason. Myspace, chat, facebook and a host of other applications are blocked because the kids totally abuse any freedom or guidelines. The kids trade ip addresses from proxy server sites and still sit there typing on facebook, playing flash games etc.when they are supposed to be working. If this video was made about what the majority would get up to in Teen Second Life then it would not present a good case for unregulated use.

[gaberoonie]

The power of this video is in its message and the way it is articulated. It's brilliant and very important. For that, I give it an enthusiastic five stars and am disseminating it as far and wide as I can...

It's weakness is its length. Under 3 minutes would be far more effective than nearly 6. Ironically, it's ones who most need to see this, that are more likely to have 3 minutes to spare than 6....

[StruvSMS]

Hello Mr. November,

Although a shorter version may be optimal for a larger audience, the whole impact of the video is in its length! You have to take the time and absorb all of the information coming at you. If we made a shorter version, much of what the video is expressing would be lost. The idea of making a trailer video could get the teacher's minds going, but they'd have to view the full thing to get a sense of what's really being conveyed in it. I hope that I've been helpful :)

-T.K.

[globalearner3]

TK are you out there? It is Mr. November.

[classacteach]

Hey Alan - TK CANNOT access You Tube in school. I will alert him to your comment at lunchtime. (Perfect example, eh?)

Peggy

[globalearner3]

Please please help me share your story with educators around the world. I present to more than 50,000 teachers every year. I can not show a 5 minute video. I will lose the audience.  Would you please make a 30 - 60 second version. You did this for a live audience. Now you need to develop a version for a web audience.

[StruvSMS]

Hey guys,

I'm one of the students who made a few lines for this and actually appeared a few times. I'd like to clear a few things up here. @vrbones Yes, you do have to give it to us. It is out future and you can't keep it from us. The same goes for your permission. You can't stop the transition of control. It's just a matter of how we get there.

Just wanted to clear this up for you guys, great discussions so far, keep it up! :D

[AxcelKaru]

YAY im in this

[ThornsNoRoses]

who is this? ;oo

[instantfameshow]

Haha, just kidding. I don't really know you. But I do know Ambreen. I'm one of her friends. I live in New Jersey. We were hanging out over the weekend and we typed in Suffern Middle School so I like posted this comment. She tells me about you. Sorry if I scared you.

[vrbones]

These lines I love: - Let me show you what I can do. - I can't create MY future with tools of YOUR past.

These lines I don't like: - You have to give it to us! - We don't need your permission

Yes, you do need our permission. No, we don't HAVE to give it to you. That said it is our responsibility as parents, teachers and society to enable the best learning environment possible for our kids, because they ARE our future.

[bluespot222]

It's food for thought. I'm going to ask the same question to my students. I feel frankly that they're waiting for me to feed them right responses. Or at best, they're going to say ' a chicken in every pot' and 'facebook for all'. Stay tuned. Nonetheless, Iove the dialogue

[BernajenaPinazzo]

Great comment - not uncommon when asked deep questions to respond glibly! But the follow up questions along with deep interest in what they REALLY think and feel - you begin to get REALNESS and profoundness! Peg probed when she got glib comments or insincere - when the kids realized she REALLY wanted their comments - this is what they said! I know these kids - you will find their voices everywhere in your own lives IF you ask them!

[mrich1911]

Thumbs up on this project. Looks like your kids are already immersed in VWs. Outstanding!

@mrich1911

[Optomystic]

One expects this level of work from its team. The amazing educators involved in this film deserve kudos for perseverence and dedication to the children. That's the key to the effectiveness, ya'll, That's the key.

[latentforce]

This video is stunning, brilliant and very very accurate. Every education system in the world is based on the curriculum devised by the Victorians for an industrial world. We don't live in that world any more! Schools are out of date and are damaging a whole generation of students. Enlightened educationalists are beginning to speak of a forthcoming crisis as kids disengage in high numbers. Well done all of you. Fantastic film will do a lot of good. You may even change the world.

[glhubbell]

your students are my new role models:)

[nerdscience]

Peggy - Great video! These kids are awesome! Keep up the good work.

[sldanielvoyager]

Awesome! :)

[classacteach]

Right?  My students RAWK!

[y1a2r34]

I'm glad to be apart of this generation and looking forward to the change. But is society going to allow us to change? Or when is it going to have an effect? Life is about change and every year is a little different. So lets go full steam ahead.

[smadsenau]

Wow. This is a high calibre presentation that definitely is asking educational institutions a question or two about change. I am stunned by the message(s). I actually am at a loss for words. Steve Madsen

[nashworld]

interesting idea. feels... in fact, IS... totally scripted.  try again.

[smadsenau]

As my daughters would say... get real.

[latentforce]

With respect, your daughters are either blinded by the education system which is now out of date and mismatched to the real world, or most probably they're part of the new world but are jumping through the educational hoops because society still demands outmoded exam results.

[latentforce]

You've missed the point. Of course it's scripted - they wrote the script and performed it. The message is deadly accurate. They are correct.

[nashworld]

I couldn't agree more that our current system is out of date, mismatched and indeed a relic of a time long since past. However, I think this video adds nothing to the conversation that hasn't already been covered time and time again. It isn't a bad video. The message is OK and the cause is noble... it just adds nothing to the conversation aside from rehashing some tired old buzzwords & phrases...

[coolcatteacher]

Then why don't you share your own video. What would a video add. The reason this was created was as a keynote to other students for NetGenEd - not for anyone else initially, although it has spread.

[nashworld]

I suppose to someone who has never heard a single word of these reform ideas, it could be enlightening.

I also think that when posting video of children online, the footage should be more, real, less scripted and prescribed. That is just my opinion, but I have a problem with telling kids to say something, and then filming them as they say it.... then portraying it as a vital message from the mouths of babes.

[coolcatteacher]

Think you're drawing incorrect conclusions here. Just because you THINK teachers wrote the script doesn't mean that they did. In fact, I know for a fact, this was a script written by the kids themselves.

[nashworld]

I'll give you that for sure. You certainly have a good point here. If that in any way had felt like a kid-produced video, I wouldn't have criticized one sentence worth from my seat in the nosebleed section. Looking back at it now, it is just clear that to me, personally, that this didn't feel like a kid video to me at all. I was of the impression of something entirely different, if so. If totally kid-directed, my apologies across the board.

[kcrouching]

I think this segment of the discussion highlights the issue impeccably. Due to the quality of it, it had to be created by a teacher, right? Students couldn't possibly create something like this on their own.

Its a whole new ballgame now folks.

[coolcatteacher]

The kids wrote this script and storyboard themselves - it is their message. It was a keynote to other kids about what they want for education. Sorry it made you feel "yucky" but they do have an opinion and right to share it.

[Maximxvmax]

Excellent

[lisathumann]

I want to go where these students are headed!!

[classacteach]

Please get the conversation started!