After looking over the web site Partnership for 21st Century Skills I thought that is was a very informative web site I thought that there mission was right on with what is needed in the 21st century in regards to the education of students today. The mission was “Serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders”. In order for students to be successful in the workforce they need the knowledge and skills for the 21st century. If not then when they get into the work force they will not be ready for the highly competitive work force, and if the students in our society are not ready then there will be students from around the world that will take their jobs. That is why it is my job to prepare the students to the best of my ability.
The thing that surprised me about the site was all the partnerships. The big one that surprised me was that the U.S. Department of Education was on the site as a partner. Also Apple, AOL, and Dell to name a couple off the list. That was just a little shocking to see that is not what I thought that I would see as partners. I thought that there might have been some no name companies as partners. But to see that the U.S. Department of Education was a partner was just shocking.
The implementations that are set forth are that as educators we need to make sure that the students have a much higher understanding of the core subjects, so that we can interweave 21st century themes and technology. An area that I would like to focus on is communication and collaboration. The website states that if students are able to articulate their thoughts and ideas that will help with their speaking and writing. I believe that whole heartedly. The better speakers that students are the better communicators they become which then leads into the better that they are able to work collaboratively. Communication is a huge part of society today. If you are not a good communicator and you cannot articulate your words then it is seen as a sign of not being educated. So as an educator I think that is a important quality and even if I personally do not have the technology and some students don’t have it either. If they are able to communicate and collaborate that will get them farther than if they are not capable of those traits
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Focusing your introduction of the 21st century skills on communication and collaboration is a great way to start. Students need to know that there are certain skills you use when communicating in the workplace that are quite different from communicating with their friends. I teach a course in business communications, and we explore the interview process. Most students get so nervous when the time comes for their actual interview (because I'm the interviewer and their classmates are the audience), and, unfortunately, a small number of students think this is a time to show they have what it takes to be a comedian. I always stress to them that, more times than not, it doesn't matter how impressive their resume is if they can't articulate themselves in an interview.
ReplyDeleteAs educators, we should build on what we've already been doing by modeling and teaching good communication skills to include communicating on classroom discussion boards (when students take online classes), blogs, social networks, e-mail, etc.
I agree with you completely. I teach Math, but I always correct my students on how they communicate and what they say. I am not the best speaker or communicator on the spot, but I try to sound somewhat intelligent. Kids today are not interested in how to communicate professionally, and I think that bringing more technology into their school lives will make them better. Better readers and writers do make better speakers and communicators.
ReplyDeleteWell put, and oh so very true. Communication in all forms is the future in order for us to thrive as a global nation. I will admit that the partners didn't surprise as much as after reflecting about who the partners are, I thought, how come I didn't know? I mean if the US Dept. of Ed. is such a big part of the movement where is the support? How is it showing in our classrooms? Just because they are supporters of the concepts, it doesn't make they a part of it. I'm sorry, but if they truly believe this is a good thing they'll need to do more to back it in the rooms then partner with the group. Just my opinion...
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