Give them Wings!

"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.  One is roots.  The other is wings." 

-Hodding Carter Jr.  

21st Century Skills 

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has developed a vision for student success in the new global economy.  They have come up with a framework that describes the skills, knowledge and expertise students must master to succeed in 

work and life.  This framework is a blend of content knowledge, specific skills, expertise and literacies. 

First, students must build a core understanding of academic content from which to build on.  Then, students must be able to apply essential skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration to that core knowledge in order to be successful in today's ever changing world.  

In this model, interdisciplinary themes are interwoven into the core subjects students encounter.  These themes are Global Awareness, Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy, Civic Literacy, Health Literacy, Environmental Literacy.  Students need to have experiences that allow them to develop the particular skills to be literate in many different areas of life.  To be literate is to be competent and knowledgeable about a particular subject.  As educators, we should be striving to produce students who are "life literate" meaning they can work competently in many given situations using a base of essential skills ie. critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration.  With proficiency in these skills, any one person has the basic tools they need to begin conquering any task and solving any problem.   

As the world continues to advance, our lives and interactions with different people and social structures had been come increasingly more complex.  The 21st century skills framework has divided the necessary skills for success in a complex life and work environment into three parts. 

Learning and Innovation Skills

• Creativity and Innovation

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Communication and Collaboration

Information, Media and Technology Skills

• Information Literacy

• Media Literacy 

• ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) Literacy 

Life and Career Skills

• Flexibility and Adaptability 

• Initiative and Self-Direction

• Social and Cross-Cultural Skills 

• Productivity and Accountability 

• Leadership and Responsibility

Using this framework with the support of structures such as the 21st century standards, teachers can better prepare their students for success beyond the classroom.  If given the write experiences, environments and supports, students can go beyond the standard course of study and become the great thinkers of tomorrow helping to solve the problems of today.  

21st Century Standards

• Focuses on 21st century skills, content knowledge and expertise.
• Builds understanding across and among core subjects as well as 21st century interdisciplinary themes
• Emphasizes deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge
• Engages students with the real world data, tools, and experts they will encounter in college, on the job, and in life--students learn best when actively engaged in solving meaningful problems
• Allows for multiple measures of mastery