21st Century Skills and Themes

At first, I had a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the topic of 21^st century themes and skills. To be honest it screams trivial, educational buzzword that is merely “sound and fury signifying nothing”. Contrary to those prejudices, it turns out that the organization behind the ideology is billing the project as a potential panacea to the tyrannical testing conducted in schools.

By defining themes and skills that amalgamate an educational career, it creates a blueprint for educators and the school system to follow. The one drafted by those championing the 21^st century themes and skills does not place the full onus on math and language arts (the primary targets of testing). Subject matter highlighting personal finances and civic duty are given importance to create a fully-functional, educated young adult. Critics might retort that learning to use a personal saving account and the importance of voting are not as crucial as say mathematics and reading. To 21^st’s (21^st century skills and themes) defense, we are in a recession and young people are known to become disenchanted or apathetic toward voting and civil service. On a large scale perspective finical and civic education seems the perfect topic to help alleviate the problems of today. Before the naysayers can accuse 21^st of dismissing the fundamentals, it should be noted that you cannot manage your finances without math and you cannot understand a president’s speech without language arts. This just helps move the actual tests being given to the students include questions on “why should you vote” and not simply reading comprehension and math equations.

To reframe the objective of 21^st, it can be seen as a circular three part cycle. First we determine what we value in a successful education. Then we implement that into a curriculum. Finally we test the students on those values to see if they have attained the education we intended to give them in the first place. So the equation reads as- values creates curriculum which we are tested on. The problem stems from the disconnect between values and testing (along with others undeniably). If teachers, administration, students, and parents saw testing as representative of their values, how could they not support it in good conscience?

The summation of my post covers the 21^st century themes and skills. As previously stated, the themes of civic and finical literacy are highly regarded. Amongst their ranks belongs health literacy and global awareness. Well some isolationists might baulk at global awareness the remaining fours importance in a well-rounded individual is undeniable. Skills are divided into three groups that have some overlay between them. Learning and innovation focuses on collaboration, creativity, and problem solving. The second set is information, media, and technology skills compromised of information, media, and technology literacy. The final group coined as life and career skills aims at promoting adaptability, leadership, social skills, and self-direction. As a whole this project creates a more well-rounded individual in a curriculum better suited to cater to the needs of the student in the information age.