Retired teachers hold the potential to have a powerful and positive influence on the learning environments of the future. This past week I had the opportunity to hear a compelling and convincing presentation on the urgency of restructuring schools to take advantage of the confluence of three trends. Dr. Thomas Carroll of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future described the enormous expertise soon to be available in the baby boomer retirement bulge, the eagerness of Generation G (as in Google) to learn through the Internet, and the inevitable attrition of one third of all new teachers. He suggested that retirees be encouraged to engage in meaningful participation in the education of young people by partnering with experienced and beginning teachers. The resultant learning teams would build on each other's strengths to develop authentic learning opportunities.
"Did You Know" is a video that provides data to support this concept. It is on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKAnyU4kGxQ
I also recommend visiting www.nctaf.org and http://www.learningteams.org/ for more information about the future of teaching. From the Learning Teams site you can link to "Encore Careers." But, once again, it is about people transitioning from other careers to teaching; e.g. "Troops to Teachers." My goal is to explore moving from education to a different career!
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