As part of my assignment for my graduate studies, I was given the assignment to explore and research a website for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. After spending some time looking through and reading the information provided, I was pleased with what I saw and read. I personally feel that the website is a good one that has a good goal in mind. It is extremely vital that students learn 21st century skills that will enable them to eventually get a career and become valuable and contributing citizens in our world.
The world is ever changing and the job force is much more difficult to enter. To be hired in any job you are now required to have many degrees. Not only do they want you to have graduated high school but many careers require that you obtain an undergraduate and graduate degree to even be in the running for a good position in your field of choice. How are we to get our students prepared to be in such a competitive environment striving to earn a good career? This website really talks about the importance of making sure that our kids are ready to enter that competitive environment that they will one day step into. The overview on the website mentions how it is vital that students develop a deep understanding of concepts as opposed to “shallow knowledge.” It is so important that students understand things fully and can think critically and have the skills to problem solve. It is so important to make sure that our students are fully engaged in real world situations that will benefit them in their futures.
After spending time really exploring this website, I was able to get a much better understanding of the skills and the overall scope of what is required to ensure that my students are ready and prepared with the skills they will need to be successful adults. I have a much deeper understanding now that I took time to explore the website and I have every intention of sharing this website with my administrators at school.
After reading over parts of the website and exploring it, I came to the realization that I have a lot of work to do to ensure that I am doing my part to make sure that kids are prepared for a world that we are not yet aware of and for jobs that have not yet been invented. It is time that I jump into it head first and begin changing my lessons in a way that would make it more in depth, hands on, and real world so that my students are not behind. I need to do my part to ensure that they will be the best they can be and will one day change the world for the better. I must start with teaching them the skills they will need to apply to their everyday lives and be ready for what is ahead of them in their adult lives.
Being an educator today carries a lot of work, we are dealing with teaching our students some things that we have barely developed. Is not only about knowing how to handle specific technologies but understanding how we can help our students acquire the diverse skills and requirements for an uncertain future. One of the latest releases of the 21st Partnership is a video about the 3R´s and 4C´s content and classroom application. It is a nice animated film written by Peter Reynolds, the award winner author and illustrator, that shows in a very comprehensive way what communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking are. I strongly recommend it. Here is the link: http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1007&Itemid=239
ReplyDeleteBeing an educator today really does carry a tremendous amount of work, definitely a lot more than anyone ever tells you in your undergraduate studies to become a teacher. It scares me to think that I am responsible for helping children to become successful in the future, someone that will impact the world. That is a lot of pressure on our shoulders, to know that we are impacting these kids and who they will one day become. I feel that at times I am teaching blindfolded. Yes I have a curriculum to follow and yes there are plenty of resources available to help in educating these children but really I wonder are we really preparing them for the unknown of what the future holds?
ReplyDeletePreparing our students for the future is a difficult job. The 21st Century Skills website is definitely a worthy site to use. After much review of the site, I found the already designed lessons, that I plan on using to help my students. With all that is asked of us today, I find these resources extemely helpful. Not only do I have time constraints due to pacing guides, testing and now restructuring; I also lack in creativity to come up with good activities with the 21st Century Skills needed to help prepare my students for their future. The lessons ideas are broken down by subject and grade. Furthermore, I found resources at the end of the lesson toolkit to be interesting and helpful too.
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