Poetic License

I just finished reading Noam Cohen’s excellent article in this Sunday’s New York Times  (Opinion/ p. 4) about Obama’s recent victory in obtaining the Democratic nomination. Cohen attributes Obama’s win partly to his ability to reach a web-savvy world and one which utilizes the Internet to garner support in a new and fresh way. What Obama seems to know is how to tap into a philosophy that isn’t about “top-down” leadership.  Yochai Benkler, a harvard law professor points out the differences between Barak Obama’s website and the McCain and Clinton websites, ” ‘On the McCain and Clinton Web sites, there is a transactional screen,’ Mr. Benkler said. ‘It is just about the money. Donate, then we can build the relationship. In Obama’s it’s inverted: build the relationship and then donate.’ ” The article goes on to talk about how Obama is “less leader than facilitator,” a role that resonates for me as a teacher.  I don’t see education as “teacher directed” but rather “teacher enriched.” I believe that students of any age have some responsibility in their own learning. Utilizing blogs and wikis is one tool to accomplish this.  Obama is having success and seems to know his audience.  Teachers should heed the lesson in his victory.