The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

When you visit The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website, you will notice that a Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills is taking place over the next two weeks. These are free online events to discuss reforms and education initiatives that would bring 21st century skills into the classroom. The summit culminates on the June 12th in Washington D.C. I am amazed at the support of businesses and educators to facilitate a change in education.

I was surprised by the 21st Century Skill Incentive Fund Act being sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives. The act provides matching federal funds to those states that incorporate 21st century skills into their core curriculum. This act was developed by those states that have committed to the Partnership’s initiatives. If passed this could help close the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” where technology is concerned. I spent some time examining North Carolina’s goals since it is the closest state to my state, Georgia. I was very impressed by some of the alternative high school opportunities available. One such option is the Learn and Earn high schools. Students earn a high school diploma and two years of college in five years with no tuition charges. These are the types of forward thinking changes that need to happen to keep our students in school.

There were wonderful resources and links to sites with ideas for teaching the skills. Levy and Murnane answer the question, shouldn’t schools be doing more than preparing students for work? The Partnership for 21st Century Skills addresses this issue as well. They encourage that global, civic, health and financial literacy be taught within the core curriculum as well. As we move into a new digital age, there are new problems that our society will face and examining these issues from a range of perspectives will equip us more aptly fort the future.

My school district has adopted what they can to help teachers become more 21st century savvy. We are making small steps, but it is very exciting. Small steps is all I think you can hope for initially. Other states have come much farther and I hope Georgia will one day follow in those state much bigger footsteps.

Visit http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php to learn more.

References:

Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2004). The new division of labor: How computers are creating the next job market. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Skills framework. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://21stcenturyskills.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=120

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf