The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a web site devoted to advancing 21st century skills into education. http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
After looking at the site I was glad to see an educational vision that includes technology and wants to help school districts make changes to prepare students for the 21st Century workforce. The site included state initiatives and my home state, Wisconsin was present. I learned that Wisconsin has developed standards for technology that will help guide teachers to prepare students. It is not surprising that lack of funding is what is holding these standards from being more utilized and this surprised me. I ask myself this question why do we not invest more into education, especially the skills that will make the American workforce more competitive? If not, what are the consequences? I think the issue of preparing students with 21st Century skills has to become a priority and the information on this site is a great resource.
I think this site is just a starting point for educators. However, if this ideal picks up steam (which I think will), all educators are going to have to question themselves, am I providing my students with the necessary skills? Many educators are going to have learn technology and learn that they are going to have to learn from their student's technological skills. It is constructivism with teachers who are not the primary source of knowledge but learners too.
This ideal will not only benefit our students, but benefit our country's economy and hopefully allow America to continue to exist as a superpower. I hope my state and district embrace this site's ideas as soon as possible because my student's success depends upon it.
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1 week ago
I too found the website/organization very valuable, but I noticed that not many states have embraced this system. In a time when our jobs are being outsourced, we need, desperatly, to teach these 21st century skills. This is an investment in the success of the United States for generations to come. Though it may increase the cost of education now, it will definitly pay off in the future. I feel, passionatly, that these skills are essential for the further prosperity of the United States.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dustin, not many states have taken this initiative yet. I think that by teaching these skills we will benefit our students and our economy.
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