While the turn of the century likely won't bring about lightning storms signaling its arrival, its inevitability is nevertheless a constant reminder that times, they are a'changing.
The education structure, too, must be prepared to move into the future and meet new challenges that will arise.
Curtis Culwell, superintendent of Lubbock Independent School District, said he envisions a time when technology is dominant, and versatility will determine a student's success.
"We're going to see in the new century more changes, more advances in certain areas of technology that will affect the work place," Culwell said. "Students who can adapt and learn new skills and be able to handle the changes that will come about will be successful."
Schools will play a huge role in helping students achieve that success, he said. School boards, administrators and classroom teachers all must understand the importance of keeping abreast of new technology and be willing to place it as a high priority in the learning process.
As technology has become and will continue to be an integral part of education and the business world, Culwell said the changes reverberate to all areas of life, right down to language.
For example, Culwell referenced the phrase "to go on and on like a broken record." While that phrase may be self-explanatory to older generations, many current students have never even seen a record player, much less heard the sounds of a broken record.
Because of technological advances, that phrase, which until recent years was a perfectly understandable way of illustrating a point, now must be changed to something like "sounds like a stuck CD" for younger generations to understand, he said.
One technological tool, the Internet, already has changed education for students and teachers in many ways, and Culwell said it will continue to do so to an even higher degree in the next few years.
"The access to information is one of the biggest changes that we've seen in the past few years, and it's just in the beginning stages," Culwell said. "That will give people power and also at times it will be difficult to manage.
"It will give people more freedom, but also more responsibility."
In some schools, research tools such as periodicals already are available on-line.
In the past, students conducting research would locate periodicals or books that addressed their topic, photocopy necessary sections of those articles, and then take the copies home to pore over and find what they needed. It was a time-consuming process in which students often spent many hours of time only to find they had reached a dead end in their research.
Now, many students simply visit their school libraries, conduct a quick computer search for articles on their chosen topic, then e-mail those articles to their home computers to read at a later time, Culwell said.
The ultimate goal is the same, however.
"We've got to make sure that all of our students have the academic skills to adapt to an increasingly demanding world," Culwell said. "We're making progress in that area, too, but we've still got challenges ahead of us, particularly in higher math areas."
Although LISD has done a very good job of cutting down on dropouts, Culwell said the district needs to do an even better job of identifying segments of the student population who are at-risk, and then taking necessary steps to recover those students.
"With the advent of more available information and technology, there are going to be alternative ways for students to receive their education," Culwell said. "There are going to be more avenues for education, such as Internet classes or distance learning."
With a range of alternative education options available, Culwell said he believes schools will need to be more competitive, providing an opportunity for school systems such as the LISD.
"We think it's going to allow us to do things differently in the ways we structure schools and deliver education," he said. "Our challenges in that area are to be able to put qualified teachers in classrooms and provide them the resources they need to provide quality education, and also to have the resources to attract good people to the profession."
Culwell said with the turn of the century, schools actually can take on an even more important role.
While schools are academic institutions first, Culwell said schools also can serve as bonding institutions that mold people from all cultural backgrounds into a common national identity.
"I think that's why our public schools deserve the support," Culwell said. "It will help us continue to shape and present a common culture that's inclusive and strengthens our nation."
Although LISD, like all public schools, will face its share of challenges in the coming years, Culwell said he believes it also will experience success.
"First of all, in terms of academic performance, our students are doing well," Culwell said. "I think that's one of the things that we're doing right.
"I think we're providing a wide variety of traditional academic challenges as well as newer technological opportunities for kids."
Culwell said the tone for the future already has been set by a school board that is committed to providing a quality learning environment and the resources needed for that type of environment.
Teachers, too, contribute each day to the success of their students, he said, which makes the district a positive place for students.
It will be individuals in the same positions who bring LISD into the future.
"We need to stay a step ahead and hold on to the things that are valued, regardless of what century it is," Culwell said. "But in the same respect, (we need to) embrace that which is inevitably going to come."
Elaine Gibbs can be contacted at 766-8748 or email@example.com
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