I thought the website was very useful and easy to use. I liked the graphical representation of the skills and the support systems in place to promote those skills. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that business and government leaders were encouraged to join the program. This is a great idea since those leaders know exactly what skills employees need to be successful out in the real world.
As I was reading through the information I came across a section where they talked about the content areas that are usually not covered in school. For example, global awareness, financial, economic, business, entrepreneurial literacy, civic literacy, health and wellness awareness and environmental literacy are not taught in most schools. I never thought of these skills/content areas before, but it makes perfect sense that students would need to know this information. I think that schools need to revisit their curriculum and implement these content areas where they can. Unfortunately, everything in education is state test driven, so school districts may be hesitant to include these content areas in the curriculum since it is not tested on the state tests.
I noticed on the website that the founding organizations are all large technology companies. This makes me a little nervous. Even though it is great that these large companies are trying to help schools to prepare their students, I think more educators need to be involved in developing the program. People with a background in education can work with these large companies and design a program that is teacher and classroom friendly. Also, this organization needs to realize that school districts are cutting back severely. Not all schools have the time and resources to adopt a whole new program, especially when funding does not rely on whether or not students have these essential skills, but rather on test scores.
Although the goal of the site is to prepare students for their future in a technology driven world, I feel like there is going to be more and more pressure put on teachers to make sure students are prepared for the workforce. Not only do all our students have to pass the state tests, but now we have to make sure they have all these skills so they can get a good job. Where will teachers find the time and what will be sacrificed to find this time?
Wow, you make some great points. I did not realize that the founding organization are all large technology companies. I would hope that they do not have alternative motives, such as promoting the use of their products by feeding in to a demand. Furthermore, I completely agree; most organizations who have been successful need to have the help and input from actual teachers. In other words, just becaue it looks good on paper does not mean that it will be beneficial when put into practice. However, I was impressed by this organizations emphasis on professional development. Far to often, I have felt overwhelmed with the new technologies that have been thrown at me, but with the right training and reasurance I am sure my confidence in teaching these 21st century skills will grow. On the other hand, like you said, will we have to sacrifice other parts of the curriculum? Or will we be able to mesh components together and create a successful program that promotes life skills, core academic skills, and 21st century skills.
ReplyDeleteKayla, I also noticed that there are many large companies supporting the Partnership. The emphasis on professional development is key to the success of this movement. We have so much technology collecting dust in our school. Many teachers are unable or unwilling to use the technology and thousands of dollars continue to sit idle. I hope that more professional development is mandated and funded so teachers can be properly prepared to utlize the technologies available to them.
ReplyDeleteKayla and Angel,
ReplyDeleteYou both make good points. I encourage you to embrace incorporating 21st Century Skills in small steps. It can be overwhelming to think about adding one more thing to our plate as educators, but I have found that by taking it a little bit at a time, I am able to do more than I expected. I also find that it helps to be honest with your students about your own learning. I tell my students that I am learning alongside them when it comes to some technology. This shows my students my willingness to learn new things and that education is a life-long process.
Kayla -
ReplyDeleteI agree with so much of what you say. I would especially look toward your concluding question about how to best address the different directions we as teachers are being pulled in. As a teacher we are responsible to prepare our students for the tests that will measure them based on state and national standards, however, in good concious we know it is also our job to try and ready them for the workplace beyond the classroom. Finding time and resources to balance these tasks is monumental and a load of stress. I think as educators the best we can do is to use technology and 21st-century skills to teach the state and national standards mandated to us. We are limited in what we teach, fortunately, in many cases we are not limited in how we teach it. I believe it is a focus on the "how" that will allow us to teach the skills of the modern workplace while still meeting the criteria mandated to us by our legislatures. I think many of these companies backing this will (hopefully) offer up grants so we can have the latest tools in our schools. Once we have those tools, it becomes our responsibility to ensure we use them to best prepare our students for their future workplace.
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI had the same concerns as you in posting for my blog. What are the big companies interests? Upon more reflection, I realized this is probably more of a blessing than a curse. Yes, the resources on this website will most likely be in favor of these companies. But, as these are needed skills for our future leaders, who else really has the money to put forth this effort? As long as we can use the resources without making our students think we have to only use their product, we will be okay. As far as teachers being pulled in yet another direction, I believe identifying these strategies and weaving them into current or new curriculum is the best answer, as our time is already stretched thin with what we are held accountable. If we can receive training or use the resources on this website, advocate for support in our district and state, and work over a summer with other teachers, for example, we could make this a part of our curriculum and better prepare our students for the future.