Every child in America needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the 21st century.
There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces.
To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by infusing 21st century skills.
-From the Mission Statement of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org)
I have included the above message because I do not want to forget what it says. I need to remember that I am not teaching my students just to survive in today’s world, I am preparing them to build tomorrow’s world.
I am impressed by the ideas set forth by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills program. I found their website to be informative and interesting.
I was most surprised to learn that my home state of Wisconsin has a 21st Century Skills initiative led by the Department of Public Instruction. I linked to their website and saw some wonderful ideas. I was disappointed, though, to think about how these ideas are not being shared amongst educators at a local level. Our schools do not talk about these big ideas (I spent twenty minutes in a meeting today talking about bathroom breaks). I would like us to shift gears and use the 21st Century Skills to build from. It seems that, instead, we are starting with content-specific standards and letting them drive our curriculum; whatever time is left (which is never enough) can be used for social skills, technology, or project-based learning. What I am noticing is that the 21st Century Skills are all value-based and if we can help our students to learn the value of skills such as collaboration, work-ethic, etc., then we will have a much easier time teaching them content-related skills.
“I am preparing them to build tomorrow’s world.” Love this comment.
ReplyDeleteIn my teacher preparation program, we glimpsed on the idea of implementing technology, but not in the depth that p21 is mentioning. Yes, many teachers and schools are not either aware or not sharing these big ideas. Since we are aware now, we should work on spreading the message. Dominate next teacher’s meeting by mentioning the 21st century skills and how it can be incorporated. Many teachers will be inspired to prepare their students for the 21st century as well.
I have heard the proponents as Web 2.0 described, somewhat disparagingly,as being "Utopian", but personally I agree with you that the values inherent in the Partnership's mission would be a very practical way of incorporating life skills into the curriculum. I like your idea that by gaining these skills first, students will be more open and more ready for content-area skills.
ReplyDeleteGetting teachers on board is another problem, but one that we certainly need to tackle.
I agree with you that the skills our students will need for the real world, including social and technology skills, are considered secondary to content-specific skills. I also believe that the 21st century skills our students will need for their futures are easily integrated into our content areas. Instead of revamping our curriculums, why can't we simply bolster what we already have with learning experiences that focus on 21st century skills? I say "simply", though I know it will be a challenge. I just don't see how we can ignore the digital futures our children face anymore!
ReplyDelete