Friday, July 22, 2011

Review of, "Partnership for 21st-Century Skills"

As I began to review the website of Partnership for 21st Century Skills I was very impressed that this is an organization fully committed to fulfilling the needs of all the students in our schools technologically so that they can become a competitive and successful adult. I really liked how there were many opportunities for people visiting the site to see the latest news and events that have gone on all of the United States that have to do with technology and 21st century skills. It was impressive that there were even opportunities for visitors to review a broadcast of a talk radio show if you had missed the initial one. Looking at the overview and framework for 21st century learning was very informative and I really liked what it stood for. The framework not only stated what the students would learn, but also the means the educators would use to help students learn all these new skills. I liked how the core subjects are all supported by technology and information skills, learning and innovation skills and life and career skills.  Core subjects are important, but they are not the end all to helping prepare our students for life as an adult; especially in a competitive workforce. One of the parts of this organization that I struggled to understand is that not all fifty states were part of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I do understand that they would need the state and the government officials to buy into their program to be truly successful, but I also think that we have students in every state that deserve the help this program can offer.  I believe it should be that all states are part of this organization and they have the option to opt out each year, but not have to earn their way in first. Most of all this website offers great tools and publications that can help me as an educator in today's world to better educate and prepare my students for the 21st century.

2 comments:

  1. I do not understand why all states have not committed to this program either; it has been in effect since 2009. My state is one of them. I believe education has been on the back burner way too long and it is time government realizes the necessity to put time and money into the education of our students. I do like the program and found the skills maps interesting. I am hoping to share them with my administration and use them in my classes next year. Hopefully we can get the information out there to the administrators and then the facts will spread on up until all fifty states get involved. It is the only way America is going to stand a chance in the future.

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  2. I appreciate that this website is available to all teachers. It is a great resource. However, I did not agree with the partnership's view on testing. I do not have time in my classroom to have a standardized test for every skill that I teach. It is important to assess the students, but there are a variety of ways for an educator to assess their students.

    I also believe that some states do not have the resources to incorporate the technology at the the level that the partnership would like. In the past, I have worked on the committee that creates the school budget. In a slow economy, schools and businesses have to make tough choices. It is not that education is not valued. It is that a school's needs must be prioritized.

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