After visiting and exploring the Web site for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/), I was surprised at how encompassing and extensive this site is. Even so, it was easy to navigate and clearly organized. With an understanding of the discrepancies between what skills students will need to succeed in the workplace and what skills they are actually obtaining, this organization serves as a link between education, business, communities, and government. In addition, they have determined a set of skills that they deem necessary for students to obtain. This list focused on the following topics: communications; financial or economic; problem solving; and social, interpersonal, global, and civil literacy skills.
One aspect that surprised me about this site's content was the fact that only ten states have become P21 Leadership States where they are able to demonstrate a commitment, submit an application, and determine a plan of action. Although this is a start, certainly more states will need to begin this process, if they have not already, in order for all students in this country to be competitive and able to secure employment.
The professional enhancement opportunities at this site were numerous. As teachers, this is a great resource for us to utilize. There are publications to read and subscribe to, an online reference section, a speaker's bureau that includes workshops and seminars, and a list of professional development affiliates with contact information.
This site will provide me with a framework to shape my classroom instruction on. When planning and developing lessons, I can refer to the many suggestions provided by qualified and practiced individuals interested in furthering the cause of promoting 21st century skills.
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Wanda, I was also amazed at how extensive the Partnership for 21st Century skills site was. There seemed to be no limit on the amount of information available. I agree that it was very organized and easy to navigate. It is very interesting that only 10 states have made a committment to this organization. It is very important that a plan of action is in place for all states in our nation. This is an excellent resource for educators to otain strategies that they can incorporate into the classroom. Your observations regarding the 21st century skills are very insightful and interesting.
ReplyDeleteWanda,
ReplyDeleteI live in Michigan and my state is not onee of teh ones listed. I also felt that although they had alot of goals they wanted to accomplsh, there was not alot of good ideas that I as a teacher could turn around and use in my classroom. It was easy tonavigate overall but was a little clutered also to teh point were it got confusing linking form palce to place sometimes having to open multiple web pages.
I just whish their ideas came with some concrete examples so teacehrs could act on them. I also beleive that as a teacher I am already accomplishing some of teh things they talked about like problem solving and interpersonal skills.
I do like that there is an organization out hteir that is started by buisness which is reaching out to teachers and trying to help rather then blaming us but I think more can be done on their part as well as ours to prepare our students for the 21st century jobs but I feel the main factor standing in our way, at least for my school and myself is adequate funding of public schools so I can take what I am learning and pass it along to my student through the use of new technology.
Mr. P (Eric)
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out the very best feature of this Web site--the fact that it is a partnership. It is a community of people coming together to promote a cause, and I agree with you that it is wonderful to not put all of the impact and responsibility on just teachers. Having support from businesses, government, other educators, and the community is invaluable to teachers. Available resources and support is what motivates and encourages us to refresh our own skills and update our classrooms.
I liked the way that you described this site as a framework for your classroom. This site provides that backbone for many important processes in the U.S. and serves and an information hub for many of our classrooms. This is a grassroots organization that can only provide information for people who are willing to instill in their students for the future. Students need to have the skills for the jobs of the future and as you stated only 10 states have instituted protcol for this to take place. I want to look at it optimistically and say that it is a start in the correct direction. As with any grassroots initiative, it is done by the people and for the people. If we can continue to express its message within our classrooms it will continue to drive the force of information into the students for a more productive future with better trained youth. Excellent post, I enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how few states are a part of this program. I agree that they have some good information, but I had a hard time of finding specific information. For instance, what is the next step? Are there any specific unit or lesson plans or examples of what to do in the classroom? I think it is a great place to start, but I think we are still a long way from implementing any big changes.
ReplyDelete