New technologies are coming to us at record breaking speed. To be successful in a technology rich environment, the student of the 21st century must be well informed and diverse in a multiplicity of skills. Educators all over the world are looking for resources to meet the growing need to help the students of tomorrow gain these skills. There is a website called 21st Century Skills that has emerged as the leading advocate to infuse these 21st Century skills into the education system. They profess to bring together business, community, educational leaders and policy makers. They have defined a powerful vision for every child's success as citizens and workers of the 21st Century. They also profess to provide tools and resources to help facilitate and drive this change.
My first reaction to this web site was... NO "stickiness" in other words... I did not find it to be a site I would want to return to often... I found it very bureaucratic not teacher friendly. There was a side bar with several articles concerning the need for 21st Century issues... I spent a lot of time searching but didn't really find any nuts and bolts on how to teach the skills for the 21st Century.
As I went back to reread the goal statement I discovered some very interesting insights. First this organization says they are bringing together businesses, community people and policy makers.... any maybe a few educators..to define a powerful vision... Why are policy makers and business people determining what should be taught...to the students of tomorrow? Next they "ensure" that every child will be a successful citizen.....Oh really? How do you ensure that every student succeed? What about the students that don't want to be educated... or the students that are hooked on drugs... or the students that drop out? I believe that when you work hard for something...you appreciate the results so much more... you have gratitude and you appreciate the journey. I believe when students are given a free ride.. when they don't have to put in the effort... they don't value anything....they become selfish and they expect a hand out. To ensure that all students succeed is unrealistic. Finally this Partnership encourages schools and districts and states to infuse and drive these changes into our education system... Well, right there I have huge red flags going up... Let's just shove this stuff through...
At first I kind of liked the States pages but now that I have looked at the goal statement in greater detail... I am not so impressed with anything on this site.
I believe it is our responsibility at educators to educate the leaders of tomorrow. We need to give them the skills needed to be successful in the 21 Century. Jobs and global markets are changing and the leaders of tomorrow need to be equipt not only with the basic academic skills but also life skills and technology skills... So how do we do that? I believe it will be one step at a time... I think teachers are eager to teach these skills but give the teacher's credit... Most have a least a 5 year education background. They know how to implement these skills if given the opportunity to collaborate.
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
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I'm so thankful to have such intelligent and intuitive people in this class with me. Reading your reaction caused me to go back and go through the website again. My first thoughts were the same as yours... I particularly like your vocabulary choice: "stickiness." I suppose I read too quickly and didn't let much sink in because now that I have seen others' views and re-read the info, the message of the Partnership is extremely unrealistic. Of course, it is important to bring more light to the subject of technology in schools, but the leaders of that movement should be the teachers, not these business people who, often, do not have a clue about what goes on in a real live school. The teachers are the change-makers.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs. Bowman for opening my eyes enough to see what was really being said in this website.
After reading your post, I intend to update mine. I felt I didn't write my first gut reactino when I first visited the site, which was, "This doesn't look like something made for me". The objectives are good and the skills they list are very important, but they don't mention how it would be implemented. They say what skills to use, but like you said it would have to the teachers who determine what is taught and how. A collaboration of all types of teachers, elementary, high school, middle school and college as well as the corporate and government entities would sound more viable. Unfortunately that in itself is a tall order and how well do you think all involved could work together before some kind of power struggle happens. Teachers of today hvae been very resourceful due to lack of funding and support from their districts and local government. A teacher network that deals with integrating technology seems to be just as helpful as the partnership. Financial and political backing is important, but when it comes down to it, teachers are at the forefront and are in direct contact with the students of tomorrow.
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