Skills and Dispositions for the 21st Century

I was impressed with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ I liked the mission statement, which in summary stated: A collaboration of educator, businesses and government entities working together creating skill lists our children need for their future. I believe this is a very lofty concept. As I reviewed who the members of this organization were I thought their goal might be attainable. The site was very easy to move around; it had a number of PDF files that I could download for more information. The graphic designers did a professional job. I especially liked the graphic of the rainbow for the framework section.

Upon further exploration of the site my opinion sadly changed. I read through the different skills the authors felt students needed and my reaction was; When was the last time they had been in a classroom? The site breaks skills into 3 different subcategories: learning and innovation; Information, media, and technology; life and career skills. Within these categories there are different skills needed in order to be successful. Other than the information, media, and technology subcategory I believe those skills sets are embedded within our curriculum already. From my own experience, educators use the content they are teaching as a vehicle to drive the many skills needed such as: collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

Starting in 2002 the Partnership for 21st Century Skills have been working closely with 10 different States to meet the challenges outlined on this site for the 21st century student. The only problem I found was that there did not appear to be any follow up regarding the successes or challenges these States went through. The goals and innovative ideas are impressive but I could not locate a plan to implement them. I was pleased to note that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills did correlate their list of skills with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

I found the following quote on the ISTE site and it eloquently states how I want to instill these important skills to my students (Knezek, 2008).

"Teachers must become comfortable as co-learners with their students and with colleagues around the world. Today it is less about staying ahead and more about moving ahead as members of dynamic learning communities. The digital-age teaching professional must demonstrate a vision of technology infusion and develop the technology skills of others. These are the hallmarks of the new education leader."
—Don Knezek, ISTE CEO, 2008


References:
Knezek, D (2008). International Society for Technology in Education Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/