21st Century Skills – The Tipping Point in U.S. Education

Articles/Presentations:

1. 21^st Century Skills – Rethinking How Students Learn – Forward
2. 21^st Century Skills – Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools
3. Online Video Clip – Sugata Mitra Shows How Kids Teach Themselves (Ted Partner Series; filmed February 2007)

After reading and watching the above articles/presentations I am feeling motivated and inspired to do even more in my classroom.  The first thing that struck me was the reference to Malcolm Gladwell and his book on “The Tipping Point” and its comparison to U.S. education being on the threshold of unstoppable change.  I completely agree with the statement and I think the longer we refuse to acknowledge it as a profession the further behind we are falling.  Change is inevitable and we need to recognize this and embrace it. 

Article 1:

I agree with the author that “21^st century student outcomes are the design specs for the rest of the system”.  On a side note, as an economics and government teacher, I am glad to see that the proposed curriculum includes economics, government, civics and financial literacy; which are important skills all students will need regardless of what occupation they would like to pursue.   Most school offer these as electives when it is imperative that all students become informed citizens in government and economic if we want to have a thriving democracy and economy.

I laughed at the quote “any employee who needs to be managed is no longer employable”.   It is so true, we need to teach students and adults to be self-sufficient and capable task manager and problem solvers, otherwise, and we are wasting valuable work time to constantly train employees to do things they should be able to figure out and do on their own.

Article 2: 

            I really enjoyed reading this Chapter in the book.  The following comment particularly caught my attention, “we now officially live in a world where even twelve-year-olds can create their own global classrooms around the things which they are most passionate.”  Maybe we should be focusing on modeling learning more after childrens’ passions.  We are longer educating children to do a job, we are training them to be life-long learners where they can adapt their core set of skills to meet the needs of the global workforce which will be dynamic and not stagnant.   Job security is no longer a reality and learning one skill will not guarantee you a steady paycheck.  We need to embrace technology and use student’s interests to engage them in creative activities that involve problem-solving on a regular basis. 

            I also like that the article pointed out that learning is now a global community and does not take place just in a classroom.  As teachers we should be looking for ways to engage our students in connecting with people, place and things outside their “inner bubble”.  However, as the article suggests we need to make sure we train our teachers and students to be safe and be aware of the dangers global education presents.  I don’t think I have ever been trained on this and I think it would be an excellent professional development opportunity to offer in my school district.

            Online Presentation:

            I think this video clip paired nicely with both articles.  It gave you a real-life example to go along with the theory presented from both of them.  I believe that remote schools are at a severe disadvantage and this video clip showed it in the flesh.  I also believe that education is evolving into a self organization and that the “brick and mortar” school we know today will probably not be the school of the future.  My interest was also peaked with the following question:  “Can technology alter the acquisition of values”?  I definitely believe it can and it will open the flood gates for teaching diversity, tolerance and a general understanding of what I would call “global values”. 

 I look forward to discussing this in class tonight with my peers.