I found The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website to be extremely user friendly. My first impression was that there was a lot going on and I needed to figure out what I wanted to look at first. However, it was very easy to navigate through all of the different materials and resources that were available. I really liked the section called “Route 21” where they had an interactive part of the website. It was neat to be able to click on the “Three R’s and four C’s” and be linked directly to information regarding that certain resource. It was also interesting to look at the different states that utilize the partnership for the 21st century skills in their states. I think it is a great initiative, because students do need to be prepared to collaborate, problem solve, learn communication skills etc. to be able to succeed in the growing/demanding/global work force.
The information that surprised me the most were all of the different sponsors and members of P21. They have textbook companies (McGraw-Hill), the computer industry (Microsoft) and they have several of each. ALL of the companies and organizations work together to provide the common goals that P21 is looking for in schools. They all support students and them learning about businesses, communities, government organizations and education.
I am very surprised that the ideas that P21 are offering are not instilled in all school districts. They are trying to teach students life skills like collaboration, communication and partnerships. All of these are used daily in the classroom, but sometimes they are not presented in an effective way. It seems that the goals, guidelines and standards that are laid out on the website make it very easy to figure out what needs to be done in the classroom for this to be successful.
I can honestly say that the time I spent looking at the website, I found nothing to disagree with. How could I not support their mission, which is to prepare and ready students to learn how to collaborate, communicate and build relationships with others in workplaces? The support of government agencies and big businesses/corporations all pushing “to create an education system that best prepares today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace”, is only going to increase our students understanding of how it all works (http://www.p21.org/index.php).
This website and the ideas presented on it is something that all education, administrators and even parents should look into. It promotes positive learning and innovation, which is something students should strive to do anyways. We have a tool available to us with this website and it can help prepare our students for the “real world”! My students need to understand the importance of being prepared and ready to succeed in the workplace. They may only be in middle school, but it is never too early to start promoting a positive and constructive work ethic.
The thought has crossed my mind when we start talking about preparing our students for the work force when they are only in middle school. Do you think that when we talk about the workplace it has any real impact for middle school students?
ReplyDeleteI think that in order for our middle school students to understand what we mean by modern workplace, then we need to begin referring to school as a 'workplace'. School is after all primarily a workplace. Just because the students are not on a payroll so to speak does not mean that it is not a workplace. If we refer to and present school as a 'workplace', then that is part of the battle. There are many labels in the world today. Let's try not to frighten our preteen worker bees and overcome this label early. It might also have another benefit-- maybe the students will realize that school is primarily a workplace and not a social and/sports gathering place. I know students need outlets to socialize etc., but they also need their academics. That is our primary goal as teachers.
ReplyDeleteI teach kindergarten and I refer to school as the students' job. I tell them it's my job to teach and it's their job to learn. Like it was mentioned above, I want the students to know school is not just a place to hang out and play.
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