My initial reaction to the 21st century website was actually one of intrigue. Before this week's assingments, I had never even heard of the 21st century skills concept. Even more to my surprise was the fact that Ohio, the state in which I live, is listed on the site as being one of the 21st century states. I certainly make an effort to keep up with current trends in education, but all of this was new to me.
I must say that there is really nothing on the website that caught me by tremendous surprise. The skills and framework laid out on the site are things that I already strive to put into my classroom. However, having a resource like this really helps to clarify things in my mind. It also reenforces why I do what I do in my classroom. The site provides me a checklist of sorts of the skills that I need to be developing in my students. Because I teach Spanish, it is also refreshing to see that world languages are now being included into the list of core subjects.
I searched long and hard to find something on the site with which I disagree. However, I could not do so. As I said earlier, the skills developed in 21st century education are things in which I wholeheartedly believe. As the Skills White Paper describes, we live in a new type of society - one in which educational styles and outcomes must change and adapt to meet the new type of students that are part of that society.
The implications for me as a teacher are that I must continue to evolve as an educator. Teaching 21st century skills is not something one can locate in a textbook. It requires time, effort, and probably a lot of mistakes and learning on my part in the process. It also requires that I teach my students a new way to learn. I would consider myself to be one of the more progressive educators in my high school. I am sure that a lot of teachers will not buy into the 21st century skills idea. That means that more of the burden falls on those of us that do to expedite the process so that students are as prepared as possible. In terms of the students, they are also facing an adjustment. Education and the way in which students are expected to learn and produce has changed tremendously from even five years ago. In essence, just like I am learning to be a different educator, they are learning to be different learners. And because the 21st century idea is not one that has inundated entire schools or educational systems, it might even be confusing students. Should they memorize information or learn to process and deal with information? Should they learn a formula to solve a story problem, or should they apply that to new and real life situations? These are questions facing educators and students today and it is my responsibility as an educator to meet these questions head on an prepare my students to be effective 21st century learners.
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised to find that Maine is involved in the Partnership, as you were with Ohio. Once concern I now have about that is our new governor and whether or not 21st Century Skills will take priority in the State House...we shall see.
You made a good point about evolving as an educator. There is a danger in complacency. We strive to have the kids keep growing as students and individuals, so we must model this as well. I often talk about my coursework with my students, just to let them know that people never stop growing, that I really am a lifelong learner.
I am also in a similar position as school. Several of my colleagues have embraced tech as a means of strengthening students learning, but there are far more holdouts than I would like to admit. Some still have trouble with email and some do not type handout...they hand write them!
Great post.
Rachel
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteYou made a good point about teachers putting the time and effort into the new technology skills. I know that in just the past few weeks I have been married to the computer trying to learn about blogging and wikis. It definitely is a time consuming project that is worth it in the end.
As a fellow Ohio teacher, what is your opinion about all of our schools that are struggling just to keep the doors open? As much as I am excited to incorporate technology into the classroom, I do not have the resources. Plus, there is the whole computer lab issue. It is used for specials. Our district, like others, is struggling, and unfortunately, I doubt that they are willing to invest in more computer labs. How can we incorporate these 21st century skills into the classrooms of our schools is there are budget cuts knocking on several doors?
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct with teachers needing to teach the students in new ways. Technology has really changed over the past five years, and will not slow down. In fact, I think that we are going to see some really fascinating innovations coming our way and unless we take the time to teach ourselves, we will not be prepared to teach the students. However, chances are that the students will learn the technology before we even get an opportunity to be trained on it. Many times, while trying to teach a new concept to students, I have found that they already know how to do them, and therefore, it becomes more challenging for me to give them more relevant and rigorous assignments. I noticed that Georgia was not on the list of states, but I can only imagine that it will not be long until it is. The site is useful, and will certainly help any teacher who is looking for advice or ideas to better serve their students. Good post!
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting reading your post because you and I felt the same on many points. The state in which I live, Colorado, is unfortunately not on the list of supporters. I find this interesting because there is such an emphasis on technology standards in my state. I also feel that this site is a valuable tool for all educators. While it was overwhelming to see all the things that are required of educators to teach, it was nice having them in one place. I like how you described it as a checklist. It helps keep me organized and aware of what I need to cover. Your are right about the need for educators to be prepared and this does take an incredible amount of time. Time is something that seems to run out and the planning can become rushed and sloppy. It is ok to learn as we go, but we do need to show our students that we are prepared at times. I do feel like I am stuck in limbo at times. I feel caught between the way I was taught and the way that I am now supposed to be teaching students. Memorization and formulas were the way that I learned, and now I am being asked to lead students to thinking about problems and developing new formulas to solve problems. This is definitely a challenge that I am facing, and am sure that many other educators are facing, too.