21st Century skills are becoming increasingly important to the success of todays students. The world and future are everychanging in a way that we are hustling to keep up with ways to prepare kids for success in that world. Todays society is focused on speed, effectiveness, and the ability to multitask. I feel that students need to be required to show that they can work using 21st century skill due to the fact that in the world of business, the people who can do great work quickly and effectively will go far.
I feel that the 21st century skills being taught in our schools are very limited and dependent on the teacher. There are a lot of teachers that once they have their curriculum set and they feel it works, they are going to stick to their ways for the next however many years until they retire. Also the focus on these skills are fairly new and veteran teachers may not be as aware of their utilization as other rookie teachers. The skills are also not as easily taught as basic skills and lecturing. Teachers have to be open to change and trying new things.
Another big thing effecting the teaching of 21st century skills are the need for teachers to give standardized tests. These tests to me are the opposite of 21st century skills and only require students to go through the testing process of memorizing things.
Antother reason the skills are lacking is that 21st century skills require a lot of variety and innovative ideas. This can lead to much time being spent getting things planned in order for the students to be creative and self-directing, but also keep them focused and working in a structured environment. The teachers must use 21st century skills themselves in order to plan and teach the skills to their students.
I feel that one way for improvement with incorporating these skills into the education program is for those teachers who do utilize them to explain the way they work and the successes they have had. Demonstrate to supevisors the great activities or projects that the students have done using the skills. Also, teachers and schools need to start simple and make improvements and advances as things go. Like a lot of things, it will take a gradual move and acceptance towards implementing 21st century skills for all teachers and students to benefit from them.
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Sadly, I agree that standardized tests seem to work towards the exact opposite goals outlined in 21st century skills! They're not going anywhere though, so we have to work with them the best we can. I also agree that sharing ideas and materials is a great way to diffuse innovation to a staff. I often thought that a web or moodle or wiki page that teachers could use to post ideas like we are doing here would be a way to share experiences and ideas. I may try this in my district in the future.
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