What is the future of education? In an era where information is literally “at the tip of your fingers,” what is the teacher’s role in educating students in the classroom?
This concern was addressed during the Teachers Induction Program organized by the DepEd Schools Division of Iloilo last December 26-28 at the Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention Center in Iloilo City. Over 600 Elementary school teachers attended the event, to learn about the theme of the conference, “21st Century Teachers: Meeting Standards and Exceeding Expectations.”
Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales was one of the speakers during the Induction. Dubbed as the Filipino Futurist Speaker, Pocholo delivered an informative, entertaining and inspiring talk entitled “The Future of Education, Learning and Knowledge.” His talk started with the bold statement that “the future is NOW,” referencing the popular 80’s movie “Back to the Future,” where the lead characters travelled forward to year 2015. Pocholo then transitioned into explaining how the evolution of techonology has quickly changed the landscape of how we live – especially today’s youth who were born without knowing what it’s like to be “offline.”
Pocholo delved deep into how the young people of this generation has been shaped by their environment and technology, and how the old way of teaching is no longer relevant to the 21st century classrooms. He made the audience realize the long-term impact of the internet, social media and touchsceen gadgets have on today’s kids. Pocholo’s talk was an eye-opener to the audience that someday, these young people will grow into full-blown adults, and they need to be prepared for the future of the future.
With all the gadgets and programs available for self-paced learning, Pocholo made the teachers realize how valuable their role is in shaping the minds of the youth, and how they can employ modern teaching strategies to make learning in the classroom meaningful, fun and relevant to these digital natives. He emphasized how VOICE was, is and will always be the teacher’s most valuable teaching tool, and gave them a few tips and strategies to use their voice effectively in teaching.
Pocholo left the audience with a powerful message that life is all about “doing something today that your future self will thank you for.”
