Education in the classroom is changing. Anyone can see it. And teachers must be able to adapt.

Sitting round a table at the MonDak Heritage Center Saturday, Sidney Middle School principal Kelly Johnson told attendees of the Women of the West Conference that in preparing the next generation, educators face different challenges today than ever before.

“All of us in this room are working together to make Sidney a community that we’re proud to have our children be raised in,” Johnson said, noting education was number one in her family growing up. Today, she relents that isn’t necessarily how it is for “some of the young people that we work with.” In preparing the next generation, Johnson said it’s important to realize the influence technology has on students. A personal “connection” and communication skills can be taken away such as through texting and online courses instead of old fashioned telephone conversations and classroom settings. Technology also plays an intregal part in today’s work. It can’t be avoided and one can't really survive without it. Teachers not only compete with technology but also must learn the technology along with the students (smart boards for example).

Another challenge is cell phones. “Do you realize the average student texts 440 messages a day?” Johnson said. “One hundred ten of those reportedly during school when they’re supposed to be paying attention in class because they hid them in their pockets.”

Not only that, but bullying takes time as well, she said. In the cyber age, bullying in the cyberworld is rising through YouTube and social networking sites. This creates different challenges to teaching in the classroom.

It’s a world of the here-and-now when students insist on knowing the answers instantly without taking the time to figure them out. “Bottom line is, as teachers, we need to stay on top of the game, we need to help students rediscover the lost art of quiet reflection,” said Johnson, whose son can spend six hours trying to find a “tactic” in a computer game but gives up quickly on math problems.

EMUC campus

Higher education was also a topic for discussion, particularly the Eastern Montana University Campus. Jean Campbell, spokesperson for EMUC, told patrons plan for the school that is scheduled to open this fall in Sidney.

“The establishment of this campus will provide an affordable alternative to local area residents along with exceptional educational opportunities for the entire eastern region of the state,” she said.

Under a K-20 strategy, Campbell said the university covers five areas of need: advanced placement for high school juniors and seniors, adult education and enrichment classes, two-year college degrees, four-year college degrees and graduate level education. And the following areas of study will be offered as the campus grows: ag managment, ranch and farm management, business, industrial technology, energy management, sciences, liberal arts and humanities. The university will also consist of three colleges: college of science, liberal arts and graduate studies.

Classes in the fall will be held in a portion of Central School. “This is not to say EMUC’s going to take over the entire Central School,” Campbell said. However, she added, plans are to eventually designate the building as the entire campus, if and when a youth center is built.

Primary tools for education include video conferencing and distance education along with the “chalk n’ talk” traditional method. Faculty will come from various public and private colleges (Dawson Community College, Montana State Universy, University of Montana and Everest College, for example).

The EMUC Board of Regents is community members include: Ladean Edam, Tom Halvorson, Don Steinbeisser, Judy LaPan, Hal Campbell, Robert Evans, Katherine Irigoin, Garth Kallevig and Bret Smelser.

In a question and answer session, one person had commented that after six months since the adoption of building a university campus, the rate of growth seemed to go fast. And VISTA Kate Johnson asked whether there was data to support some of the claims of what’s needed in the area for education, but no answer was given except that five priorities were listed in the mayor’s committee, and higher education was among those.

She also inquired if the board of regents had consulted the Life Long Learning Action Group in its planning of the university as the action group has been working for the last few years in building a learning center. Regent Irigoin said she didn’t know but would get the comment to the next meeting so it can be included and considered.

“The intention is not to compete with anything that's already available but enhance opportunities for people within the community,” she said. Johnson agreed, saying the public library also offers assistance in education through proctoring exams, ordering physical and electronic materials, and acting as an advocate of the student. “We’re too small not to work together,” Irigoin said. “It seems like they go hand in hand and should go hand in hand.”

reporter@sidneyherald.com