Evaluating 21st Century Skills

In November, a Massachusetts task force concluded that straight academic content "is no longer enough" to help students compete: It urged state education commissioner Mitchell Chester to add 21st-century skills to curriculum guides and teacher training. This statement was found in an USA Today article I read online on the website of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I totally agree with this statement and 21st century skills should be added to all U.S. state curriculum guides and teacher training programs. They are necessary skills for the future.

I also agree with the website's view of a varied approach to teaching, that includes a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills' website is a very informative website that clearly explains the reasons why certain skills as thinking and problem solving skills, information and communication skills, global awareness, and others are not to be ignored by today's educators, but they are the fundamental skills for the 21st century in which we live.

Things on the website that surprised me: that many large corporations are listed as current board member organizations (Hewlitt Packard, Dell, McGraw-Hill and others), that so many states are submitting applications and making changes to align themselves with the 21st century skills, that the site provides online tools to educators to use that help incorporate the skills into classrooms, and by the list of affiliates that provide professional development training to educators and administrators through the P21 program.

I did not disagree with anything on the site. I just wondered what these big companies are really contributing to the teaching of the 21st century skills? Are they just contributing funds to provide this group that promotes 21st century skills?

I will definitely look into the online tools that this site provides for how to better incorporate 21st century skills into my teaching. I will try my best to provide a classroom environment for my students that promotes and utilizes as many of these 21st century skills as possible and I will try to do so through the use of technology, interactive learning, collaborative learning, and hands-on learning. I need to take the time to tweak my existing lessons so they truly enhance the learning that my students will need for the future.