Avatar: Glimpse into the future of technology?

 I saw the movie Avatar and I have to say it was pretty amazing.  The visual effects and the "alternate world" was very interesting.   The movie itself had a good story line and kept me very interested for the three hours I sat and watched, but what was even more fascinating to me was thinking "how did they do that?"  The technology used in this movie must be cutting edge and it was great.  

The reason this amazed me was because while people like James Cameron are creating these amazing technological breakthroughs in their area of expertise,  our schools refuse to teach kids how to surf the internet properly.  How do we expect our students to become pioneers, experts, or even inspired to do something great when we do not give them the tools they will need to function in the society they will enter six years from now?  I am not saying that our future leaders cannot achieve great things without the use of cutting edge technology but just imagine how the tool of technology could enhance their endeavors.  

Life skills such as reading and writing would never be overlooked in school.  If they were,  people would be in an uproar and want all teachers fired!   In our world today, and their world tomorrow, we need to realize that there are a few things that need to be added to the list.  I do hope that teachers become more comfortable with using the tools we have to teach the kids.  Just bringing laptops into the classroom for word processing is not enabling them to tap into the full potential of what they have at their fingertips.    We need to fully engage ourselves in the world we live in now in order to totally understand the world our students will be entering in the future.  There are too many teachers "stuck in their ways" and therefore the students they teach are becoming crippled in their education.  Hopefully we will find a happy medium between teaching them the "essentials" that are needed as well as embrace the fact that technology is our future...  Once this happens across America, I feel we will be taking the first step toward true greatness.