Potentials of the global community

So this far in, an observant reader may have noted my general hesitations regarding technology at large.  Well done!  To be fair, I really ought to present both sides of the coin, and I shall do so in the form of a story.  The story is about a friend of mine who serves in the US Armed Forces, and how he nearly (sigh…) came to attend and enhance my Year 11 Politics classroom this semester.

I met Chris while travelling in the USA last year, through the overwhelmingly kind and generous hospitality of his girlfriend.  Chris was living in New York State when the Twin Towers were hit, and was immediately posted to Ground Zero where he worked for over a year.  He was later posted to Iraq, the country my students were about to embark upon.

I had the inspired idea to hold a Skype date between Chris and the class; my mentor was mighty impressed, and the students were really excited too.  I was terrified that technology would let me down on the day, as we (technology and I) tend to have a somewhat tumultuous relationship.  Despite my fears, the class worked together to form a set of questions that they would like to ask Chris about Iraq, his efforts, and the politics of the region.  I forwarded these on to Chris so that he could have an idea of where the students were headed.

The tragic conclusion?  Chris was re-posted to service in the Middle East two days before my planned lesson.  I was so disappointed, and so were my students, but there was nothing that could be done about it.  The lesson of this attempt to harness technology for the noble pursuit of education, is that technology isn’t always the thing that will let you down…sometimes, people will.

But it’s good to try your best all the same.