21st Century Skills

While exploring the 21st Century Skills  website, I found myself one major complaint: that I had not heard about it sooner.  It has been frustrating to me as an educator to see the field mired in what amounts to a 19th century mindset.  Many teachers still rely on textbooks and pencil and paper to teach--it's almost as if most of the available technology had never been invented.  This organization has outlined the kind of change that education needs.  Hopefully, this is the type of reform that gets the attention of the legislators that are making the decisions.

A few things surprised me about the website:

1) This claim in the FAQ:

"There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces."

I have always viewed the younger generations as very technologically capable.  I'm starting to see that there is a difference between having an iPod and having technological skills.

2) The idea that a rigorous, challenging curriculum is a necessary 21st century skill.  I have always equated "rigorous" with "more."  I'm a big supporter of extracurricular activities and athletics in high school.  I think that they teach students valuable skills and would caution against increasing the rigor of courses at the expense of extracurriculars.

However, I'm beginning to see that rigorous does not always equal more.  In fact, rigorous can just as easily mean less.  It's all about the type of questions we pose to students and the lessons we have them complete.  My job as a teacher has to become more rigorous as I seek to challenge students.

3) I was surprised by the number of states already on board with the Partnership.  It's great to see that they have already been successful in reaching so many states.  I'm hopeful that the next step will be for P21 to go national, similar to No Child Left Behind.

As an educator, I first need to get more familiar with the P21 initiatives.  I would like to take a closer look at what is being done at the state level.  While doing so, I need to emphasize P21 skills in my classroom.  As a history teacher, I would place emphasis on global studies and communication.  I believe that having broader goals than the content of the classroom will make me a better teacher and the students, hopefully, better learners.

How to Use a Blog in the Classroom

I have used blogs in the past in Creative Writing classes as a showcase for student work. It worked decently well. If I had it to do over again, I would make a single class blog and post all of the student work there. Sharing and commenting would be easier.

One lesson that I will implement next semester for World War II in my 10th grade American History class will greatly be enhanced by a blog. This summer I transcribed my grandfather's journal from the war. It was extremely eye opening for me--I'd never really thought of him as anything other than my grandfather, even though I was familiar with his war service. Seeing the events transpire in his own words was very powerful.

I plan on posting his entires to a blog. I will do this in real-time as much as I can, but will have to condense three years into a semester, so each post will have to include a few journal entries. I have read some other blogs in the past that used the same idea, mostly using journals from World War I and World War II. This will allow students to see the war unfold from a unique perspective--a soldier just a few years older than they are--and (hopefully) really drive home how his personal life was profoundly affected by the war.

In addition to the journal entries, I hope to link articles, pictures, encyclopedia entries, etc. to enhance student understanding of the battles my grandfather participated in, the cities he saw, and the people he met.

Students will both comment on the actual blog postings and be responsible for any questions or worksheets that go along with the project.