Importance of 21st century Skills

As a teacher in New York State, I was surprised to find that New York was not one of the sixteen states that have begun the implementation of the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills.  In the past the concern in New York has been performance on the standardized Regents exams.   This year there has been a major shift from Regents performance to the implementation of the Common Core.   Simply put, the Common Core is an emphasis throughout the subjects on literacy.   As the shape of education changes in New York, I cannot believe that until this week I had zero knowledge of the National initiative for 21^st Century Skills.   As educators, the job of preparing children for success beyond the classroom falls on our shoulders. 

This website provides a number of resources that can be referenced by educators and parents who are serious about producing students who are ready to compete and function at a high level in today’s globalized landscape.    This commitment to success is evidenced by those companies who work collaboratively with the partnership.  Businesses such as Apple, Dell, and the National Education Association work side by side to create learning environments that bridge the gap between skills and knowledge students learn in school and the skills they will use in the real world (http://www.p21.org/about-us/strategic-council-members).

In this week’s learning resources Dr. Thornburg discussed skills for the 21^st Century.   When the goals of the partnership are compared to the skills Dr. Thornburg believes are important for those entering the real world to have, the list is very similar, and both believe that critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication are at the top of the list.  The partnership calls these skills part of the 4 C’s  and adds in collaboration (Laureate, 2010).   This week Dr. Dede talks about the importance of collaboration in the real world.  He believes that as cyber infrastructure gains popularity, collaboration will be one of the most highly desired skills for employees (Laureate 2010).  By combining the common course curriculum also known as the 3 R’s with these 4 C’s the partnership for 21^st Century aims to produce productive members of society.

I did not find anything on the site that I truly disagreed with.  I feel that all of the skills mentioned are important for students preparing for life.  I also understand that the nature of jobs in this country will continue to become more and more globalized and because of that how we prepare students must also adapt.  The one area that I might say the partnership left out is the family aspect of education.  My students come from varying home lives and unfortunately taking care of younger siblings, work, and lackadaisical attitudes toward education are becoming more and more prominent.  Roughly speaking I see my students 180 and 245 minutes of the 10,080 minutes that each week has.  That is not a lot of time.  Successful students in my opinion are willing or taught through a structured environment to develop and employ study habits outside of school.   There are just too many young children and teachers who are not getting the support needed from parents.  Please let me be clear, I am not trying to pass the blame here.  I would like to see this partnership start working with parents to instill the importance of education and what a commitment learning can be for our children.  Often times, a commitment beyond the classroom.

   Today’s students are no longer able to graduate from high school and get a job at the local factory.  The face of labor in America is changing almost as quickly as our technology.   By fusing the traditional 3 R’s with the 4 C’s U.S. students will contain the skills necessary for life beyond the classroom (http://www.p21.org/about-us/press-kit). As educators our goal should be to prepare every student for what lies ahead and through the incorporation of these 21^st century skills, students will be ready.  This may mean that we must stop outside of our comfort zone and away from the textbooks to provide our students with rich, real world learning experiences (Laureate, 2010). As lifelong learners we should be excited to test uncharted waters, there will be bumps and bruises along the way, but the idea that we have a major role in the success of our students as adults should be worth every bit of the struggle.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program eleven. Skills for the 21st century [Webcast]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011.). A framework for 21st century learning. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework