The partnership for 21st century skills is an organization consisting of select business community persons and educators whose main aim is to close the gap, the 'disconnect' between the knowledge and skills to be taught at school as a prep for the digital work place.
And what is wrong with that? Nothing. Nothing at all. Upon perusing the pdf report document, 'Learning for the 21st Century', I found a common play field upon which leaders in the business community can dialogue with educators about ideas that addresses the kind of skills that young persons need to have in order to exist as 21st century employees or employers. The fact that such a group exists is a plus for the United States as she seeks to prepare her young people to exist in their globalized reality.
The overall structural layout of the site is quite easy to navigate and is eye-catching. How much easier that makes the reading of the content, is up to the individual critical reader, but the provisions of specific subheadings with concise data in snippet form allows for easy reading and understanding. The content is familiar and is congruent with most information that details the impact of technology on education, work and society.
It addresses curriculum design, assessment and how it should be done for the 21st century, modifications of instructional strategies to facilitate the learning of the 21st century skills in core subject areas of Maths, English, Foreign languages and government, civics, History and Geography. The reality of today's "flat world" (Friedman, 2007) demands an adjustment not only in the work place, but also with the national curricula. The fact that today's workers must be able to multitask, share and collaborate with others, and make informed decisions after critically evaluating facts or data are just a few of the skills that are expected to be developed from interfacing with the present and emerging technologies of the 21st century that schools and teachers are expected to become savvy with or at. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is therefore emphasizing and advocating for change in the way in which things are now being done in education so that as the years progress and technology becomes more sophisticated and central to the operation of everything, the US as a major world power is not left behind.
These are therefore challenging times to be a modern-day educator. It calls for renewed self-direction and a higher sense of social responsibility towards future generations. It sets up a challenge, that as educators, we must be educated in the use of the tools to facilitate the learning of these 21st century skills. The comforting news lies in the fact that the report provides the platform for continued collaboration between the business world and the world of academia. The very tool and skills that are being encouraged to be developed in the youth are also the very tools and skills that are facilitating the planning, the training and the operation of this 2002 project. Every educator needs to get on board this technological train of progress; its aim and purpose appears to have the children, the country's future, at heart. In the same manner in which it takes one drop of water to start a waterfall, so it will take the collaboration, support and effort of all educators to provide the quality education to fit our students for the 21st century.
Reference
Partnership for 21st century skills. (n.d). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
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Hi Jewel
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful statement in saying, "The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is therefore emphasizing and advocating for change in the way in which things are now being done in education so that as the years progress and technology becomes more sophisticated and central to the operation of everything, the US as a major world power is not left behind." It seems like everything educators are required to do today can be traced back to No Child Left Behind. But if you look at the guidlines under this act, the essential skills noted by the Partnership, along with technology in general, are not included. So, isn't that exactly what the governemnt is doing to our students, leaving them behind? According to Miners and Pascopella (2007), Students are spending 27 hours a week online at home, compared to an average of 15 minutes per week at school" (p.27). It seems to me that there is alot of revamping that needs to take place in order to align true educational needs with government policy. I agree that this organization has done a commendable job in taking action to hopefully begin a new wave to the start the waterfall of which you speak.
Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34.
Hi Jewel,
ReplyDeleteI like how you said "it takes one drop of water to start a waterfall," that statement aptly describes what needs to take place in the U.S. if our educational system is going to grow in the 21st century skills. I agree that The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a great resource and organization with many knowledgeable people at the helm, but it will take us educators to be self-motivated, with our students needs in mind, to implement the 21st skills in our classrooms...one lesson at a time.
Sandy
"We need to grow our own talent"(2008). In order to do this all educators need to get on the "technology train" like you said and work together to prepare our students with the skills that they need to be prepared for the real world.
ReplyDeleteCollaborating with others is key to success. "The problems are too big for one person or one area to fix" so working together to prepare our students is the most important thing for educators and bussinesses to do.(2008)
Kate Jorgensen
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Skills for the 21st Century [Motion
picture]. Baltimore: Author
Jewel,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. It brings forth so many relevant and urgent realities that need to begin taking place across the Nation. The truth is that as educators we can no longer ignore this notion of a “flat world” because the United States is slowly losing its workforce. Without a doubt, research is revealing that workers in the U.S. cannot perform specific job skills required, whereas other nations are meeting these demands (Bates & Phelan). The Partnership for the 21st Century Skills is attempting to get the educational system back on track so that American can not only get back on track, but more importantly, be competitive.
With anything, there are always questions. Only time will tell if the educational system can alter its practices soon enough to meet the ever-changing demands. At the same time, will The Partnership for the 21st Century be enough? It appears to have all the correct steps and procedures in place, but with the society changing at such a fast-paced rate, the educational system needs to step up and transform with society.
At the same time, educators need to not forget about content and the importance of students receiving an education. I believe that 21st century skills need to be intermixed with learning content. Students need to be able to navigate the computer as well as how to perform specific technical skills correctly and accurately, but that cannot override learning content. “The 21st century skills movement will be invaluable it if leads to strategies to make our system of schooling more equitable and effective by giving students, especially economically disadvantaged students, both content and various advanced skills” (Rotherham, 2008). Therefore, I agree with our students receiving 21st century learning skills as long as they are still gaining the content—rich knowledge.
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.
Rotherham, Andrew. (2008, December 15). 21st-century skills are not a new education trend but could be a fad. U.S. News. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/12/15/21st-century-skills-are-not-a-new-education-trend-but-could-be-a-fad.html
"These are therefore challenging times to be a modern-day educator. It calls for renewed self-direction and a higher sense of social responsibility towards future generations. It sets up a challenge, that as educators, we must be educated in the use of the tools to facilitate the learning of these 21st century skills. "
ReplyDeleteIt is good to know that we have come to see that as educators we need to log on to tools that will prepare our students for the 21st century. The only problem is that at times many of us get discouraged when we view the many challenges that we are up against.
I therefore agree with you that we need to view the challenges and format plans to get over them. We too can be partners for 21st century skills. We may not be able (all of us) to join this awesome group and work with wonderful and powerful companies to bring about the changes but we can work in our own time with the resources we have created to make our students viable for whatever they are faced with.
Let us not be afraid of the challenge but like many before us enter this feild and come outmilig all the way to the interviews and back . victorious with our students.