Reflection

The first line in Chapter One of 21st Century Skills states, "we are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist...using technologies that heven't yet been invented...in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet." I think this statement sums up what the 21st Century Skills are all about. We, as educators, need to learn from the past in order to help our future. We need to create lessons that cause students to critically think for and by themselves to be able to solve any problems they may encounter. Not only should our students be able to read, write, and apply mathematical skills, but also create answers to problems by themselves, with only guidance from the teacher. We should expect a lot out of our students, but when they are old enough to "be in the real world" there is going to be a lot that is expected of them so starting now should prepare them for success. And we also need to keep in mind that this knowledge should not come to our students naturally. These skills should be modeled, practiced, and modeled, and practiced over and over, until students become accustomed to learning and thinking with this "new" knowledge. Once students prove that they understand these skills, we should model and practice these skills once more to reinforce the importance of independence and the always-seeking-information-and-self-improvement attitude. Doing this will help ensure that students can be ready for a future where they will encounter jobs, technologies, and problems that do not exist yet.

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Section 6 Learning for Life - Building a Better World

The last section of the book summarized the ideas of 21st Century Skills changing our world. Education has always been important, but most recently has been seen "as the golden ticket to a brighter economic future." How we educate our chidren now depends on how successful they will be in the future which in turn determines how our own future will be. Section 6 reflected on our recent global recession. Stating that our tough times now is a glimpse of the future and what a lack of education can bring. Even though these times are difficult, they serve as an important lesson of what we need to fix so we can bring a bigger and better change of life. No one wants to live a life of worry, depression, struggling families, or unproductive economies. So what do we do about it?! We step up and help to make a difference! We give our children the skills necessary to secure a job and to contribute to their economy. And because all countries can benefit from these 21st Century Skills, we should share our ideas and even get more ideas from each other. If we all have the same goal in mind, and can cooperate to achieve this goal, we will be better prepared for a bright future. Students are already learning together and communicating through global networking, why can't we? "Students are already making a difference in our 21st century world." When we put effort towards providing a learning atmosphere where students can take risks and make their own discoveries, students dive into the depths of learning, instead of skimming the surface. Many teachers have discovered this, and have found that students are capable of doing much more than anyone ever thought they could! Children are natural-born problem seekers and solvers, we just need to provide them with an environment where they can practice that. As long as the problems we provide are meaningful, "there are few limits to what students will learn to help solve the problem." We need to know our students inside and out. We need to know what they love and care about so we can harness that passion to fully engage our students, and use 21st Century Skills to create meaningful and memorable knowledge that they can use to solve problems. Students should not be expected to graduate and automatically know how to do all of this, they will need lots of practice to become 21st Century Learners, and we need to be the people that give them that practice and guidance. "It's time to give all our students the chance to learn how to build a better world."

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