Supports Measure J

Editor,
My parents had to go to school because that’s where the information was. I also went to school, but I was able to find some of the information at home. My parents made sure I had a set of encyclopedias, a dictionary and various other resources available to me.

Today, students walk around with this information in their pockets. Our job as educators is more than to simply provide students with a bag of facts because those facts are changing at a rapid pace.  My third-grade teacher once told me I had to learn my multiplication tables because I wouldn’t be walking around with a calculator in my pocket. Today, I have a calculator in my pocket that makes phone calls, takes pictures, does unit conversions and can show me pictures of my home from space. Knowing numbers is still important. Yet, it‘s equally important to understand why we would want to multiply and what answers represent.

Education must change because our world is changing. As the new national Common Core standards are coming out, our shift must be from students learning processes and algorithms to creating algorithms, analyzing information, engaging in problem solving and deciding how to use tools appropriately. Our students must learn how to collaborate in a digital environment using tools that didn’t exist 10 years ago. We are preparing them for jobs yet to be created in order to solve problems yet to be discovered.

This is the changing face of education. Porterville Unified School District is attempting to stay ahead with programs like Pathways to Careers and College, by updating and maintaining technology infrastructure, and providing teacher development. All of this is challenging, even while remaining fiscally solvent in a difficult economic climate. We may not always know the answers, but we are constantly asking the questions necessary to provide opportunities for our students to make sense of the world in which they live. This has been my experience as a PUSD educator. This is why local support of our schools has never been more important. This is why I support Measure J.   

David Cox
Math Teacher
Porterville Unified School District