Week 2 -- Blog Post #4 -- 21st Century Skills & Lifelong Learning

Just to give you a good perspective on all opinions of the 21st century phenomenon, here is an article from Washington Post writer, Jay Mathews. He makes a good point to those of us teaching in inner city schools. He states, "How are millions of students still struggling to acquire 19Th-century skills in reading, writing and math supposed to learn this stuff?". Now while I may not completely agree with the statement, it does have some value. Many of my students still struggle to read and write at their grade level (75% of our students are special education with IEP's for reading, writing and math) and score in elementary and middle school levels for the statewide exam. Not to mention the fact that many 21st century skills initiatives are based on using technology in the classroom, which we do not have. Most of our students don't have a computer at home let alone Internet access, only 5 video cameras for school use and that is it. There is just no way for me to teach them to create a video when we just don't have those resources. 

Are we supposed to ignore this important implementation when trying to teach our students skills that may be beyond their capabilities our resources? NO! But we do need to make sure we are teaching these skills in an alternative manner. I know for myself as a foods teacher, the fact that I can make my content relevant immediately gives me a huge advantage, but I also need to make sure I am taking it to a new level. The skills I teach are lifelong skills and basic adult living skills, but I need to do more. I try to teach my students about time management through completing labs, problem solving skills if they mess up a recipe and have to fix it. The simple things, but something new is my daily formative assessments where students have to answer the question of the day in order to see if they actually learned something. Sometimes it is a reflection of their behavior, sometimes it is comprehending a large concept or small concept, but it still teaches them to reflect upon their learning. This not only helps with 21st century skills, but also the concept of being a lifelong learner. We take many breaks through the day to just stop and reflect on why are doing this and what am I supposed to be learning. In an article in the Urban Advocate (a newsletter produced by the National School Board Association) they examined how urban schools can still meet the needs for 21st century skills without the resources of other schools. Del Stover states, "students need to learn the fundamentals, but also realize they can find their own solutions. That's a huge change where students have more of a role in their own learning." This is something all teachers should be doing daily, but it is even more important in order to prepare our students for their futures and help them to become life long learners. 

Sources: 

Mathews, J. (2009). The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21st Century Skills. The Washington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2009 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401532.html

Stover, D. (2008) How Can Urban Schools Falling Short With Basics, Add Yet More To The Curriculum. The Urban Advocate. Retrieved September 10, 2009 from http://www.nsba.org/SecondaryMenu/CUBE/Publications/UrbanAdvocate/UASummer2008.aspx