My specific role is changing in that I must spend more time during planning focusing on innovation and trying to stay updated on current tools I can use with my students. This means I spend less time using teacher manuals that come with textbooks since traditional textbooks cannot keep up with the changing technologies and resources. I feel my students will be more prepared for real life jobs with this approach. There are not many jobs that require you to simply read a textbook and memorize facts. Maybe they will need that skill for a certification test, but that will not be the end all of their information gathering.

Table 1.2, which shows the progression of educational demands over time, sums up this chapter for me. As the USA has transitioned from the Industrial Age, it is interesting to note how much schools are having to race to close such a large gap of disconnect. Curriculum formats that are tied to high stakes testing appear to keep the 50's style in education bound to rote instruction, which today's Knowledge Age does not thrive on. To maintain competitive today, the USA struggles to find the correct balance with seemingly "fly-by-night" educational reforms, frustrating teachers with constant new demands. But if we look at the progression we find ourselves in, we as teachers have the ability to truly make a change for the better of our young citizens. When we fearlessly immerse our own selves in that Knowledge Age and incorporate the vast array of technological tools and 21st Century skills into our teaching, our students and us become 21st Century denizens. I will focus on developing critical thinking, innovation and creativity with my students - have them not just think, but stretch outside the box.