The changing nature of education has brought about a changing dynamic between the student and the teacher. No longer is the teacher the repository of knowledge. Sure, the teacher should have specialized knowledge that can be useful to impart, share, and disseminate, but good students with the right guidance will find their way to useful information.
Thus, it is important that the classroom and its extension beyond the walls of the school building, be a place where authentic learning experiences take place.
I recently had the opportunity with another colleague of taking a group of students to a model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C. For students interested in national and international affairs it doesn't get much better than the American capital as a place to tackle modern political challenges. Add the prestige of Georgetown University and the largest student-run model United Nations in the world (http://naimun.modelun.org/) and you have the makings of an authentic learning experience.
Students had the opportunity to write draft papers that would be read alongside those of nearly 3,000 other delegates. Of course, only the top papers would make it to the assembly floor. On-site resolutions were crafted, accepted, rejected, or modified. Lobbying, and jockeying for influence took place in the conference hallways, and meetings stretched from early morning until late in the evening. In short, it was the United Nations in miniature.
Of course it isn't always possible to travel far and wide in order to gain such experiences. Many can be had closer to home. The skills required to make changes in a local community- effective written and oral communication, well-researched positions, compromise and cooperation- are the same as those needed further afield.
Students have an appetite for learning. Teachers have a passion for it too. The meeting point between the two is always exciting when the learning experiences are authentic.
