Area principal publishes book about education
To say Rob Furman enjoys being involved in education would be an understatement.
For him, education is a passion. The 43-year-old South Park Elementary principal has been in the field for 20 years and shows no signs of slowing down.
Furman just published his second book, “Technology, Reading & Digital Literacy: Strategies to Engage the Reluctant Reader.”
Furman is a graduate of Peters Township High School and was raised in a family of educators. Following high school, he attended West Virginia University and received a bachelor’s degree in music education. He then went to Duquesne University, where he earned a master’s in educational administration and eventually a doctorate in education.
In his latest book, Furman provides parents and teachers with methods that can engage students using technology and get them interested in reading when they otherwise may not be. Furman makes clear these “reluctant readers” aren’t necessarily struggling readers.
“A struggling reader is a child that has difficulty reading. A reluctant reader simply doesn’t want to,” Furman said.
Furman said children are exposed to many other forms of media that draw them away from the desire to read, and children will look at commercials for video games and movies, but rarely a book.
“My concern becomes kids are losing the ability to be able to have the ‘movie in their mind.’ Video games are so immersive now and movies make you feel like you’re in the center of the movie. … Kids don’t really have to use that imagination much anymore. The need to read now is even more critical than ever, because we have to keep that creative process of imagination going,” Furman said.
Applying technology and its various uses to education is an important subject to Furman. He believes technology has the ability to give students access to tools and skills that will aid them in problem solving and critical thinking. This does, however, require teachers use the technology appropriately.
“My biggest pet peeve right now is using technology just for the sake of being able to claim that you did,” Furman said. “The Smart Board could also be a really expensive chalkboard, and we don’t want it to be that. … If we’re using it as a glorified chalkboard, or using PowerPoint as a glorified overhead projector, that’s not really using technology. It may make it easier to do things, but it’s not really helping kids with problem solving, creativity, collaboration, communication, all of those twenty-first-century skills that our kids are going to need to have.”
With the growth of technology, Furman believes today is the “most exciting time to be in education.”
Taking advantage of the opportunities is something Furman said will require passion from teachers.
“The teachers of today and the teachers of tomorrow, they’re going to be our innovators. They’re going to be the ones that have to teach these kids how to broaden their minds, how to solve the problems that we don’t even know exist yet.”
Making use of this technology comes back to the main purpose of Furman’s book: getting kids interesting in reading. Not only getting them to read, but getting them excited about reading and helping them learn how to make what they read applicable to their lives. According to Furman, technology such as e-books goes a long way to helping kids get into reading.
“There are kids out there that want to read, but maybe are embarrassed by the cover of the book. … You don’t know what I’m reading in here,” Furman said, pointing to his iPad. “What if a boy wants to read a book that’s geared toward girls? Just the anonymity of it, alone, is a beautiful thing.”