As a graduate student at Walden University my classmates and I began a discussion about the following topic.
Our assignment was as follows,
Spend some time exploring the Web site of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Familiarize yourself with their mission, the members of the partnership, and the various resources available on their site.
• Your reaction to the Web site
• What information on the site surprised you?
• Did you disagree with anything on the site? Explain.
• What are the implications for your students, and for you as a contemporary educator?
www.21stcenturyskills.org
My reaction to this website was simply, YES! As a former member of the business world, where the most valuable of my employees were the ones with the best problem solving skills and communication, I completely agree with all the mission statement goals.
The only information I was surprised about was the number of states that don’t have plans in place to align themselves with the legislation. I would have thought that my state, New York, would be a front runner in these plans. I liked the fact that so many influential business leaders are involved.
The implications for my students as a contemporary educator are that I have a national organization that supports what I personally believe strongly, these goals are a must do in our educational system. We no longer compete with each other in the U.S., it is a global market place. I also believe that there is a ground swell starting in our educational system about the importance of 21st century skill, as evidence by programs like the current “Race to the Top” program started by the Obama administration. I see administrators in my district supporting the integration of 21st century skills in our school.
Do No Harm
2 years ago
I was surprised at the lack of participating states, too. Then, as a student in New York, and now a teacher in Florida, (both not on the list), I did a mental assessment of the schools, available resources, and legistlation. Then, I was no longer surprised. Education is often tossed around as a political agenda, but little is ever done to support it. We are continuing to fall behind in so many areas; technology could be used to bridge that gap with other countries.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reaction to the website. I feel that as a country we are realizing the importance of technology and the impact it has on all Americans. With that being said, do you feel that school districts and states are doing enough to teach these 21st century skills to students?
Communication skills and problem solving skills are some of the best assets that a person can possess in any job market, not just today’s. We have to add technology skills to that for our students to complete the package for their futures. As a former businessman myself, I can relate to your view of employees. Although in my case many had a deficiency in these skills. This makes our responsibility of expressing the importance of these skills while incorporating technological skills that much more important. Students must learn to think, not expect every answer to be given to them.
ReplyDeleteI, too, was dumbfounded that my state of Georgia was not on board here. With the stakes being so high, I would have figured there to be many more states involved. I took the first step by making my technology department at the board of education aware. Let’s see where it goes from here. Working in the area of technology integration has opened my eyes to the importance of 21st century skills for the success of our nation’s students. The very success of our nation is riding on the successful transition of our educational system.
Hi James-
ReplyDeleteI was surprised New York was not more involved as well. How do you think you can get your state and district to take part in this initiative?
How do you think having a more global marketplace changes the way we need to conduct out educational system? Does it also change what our students need to know?
Yes, you would think that New York would be a leader in an area such as technology. My district, lead by our new administration and federal stimulus funds, seems to be working hard to bring our classroom up to 21st century speed. I will soon have a interactive white board in my class and I have been sent to several regional technology integration seminars. As far the state is concerned, like many others around the country, the economic downturn has hit state budgets hard. The governors proposed budget has large cuts to education, which may have districts trying to save teaching jobs rather then spending money to improve classroom instruction for students.
ReplyDeleteI believe this has huge implications for our students who face a global market place when they leave our schools. Their abilities to operate in a ever increasing technologic world will be hampered even further if educational priorities don’t shift to keep up with the real world.