In my own classroom, I will commit to making a place for 21st Century skills. They will be in my grade book for each student to see, and we will practice them intentionally. A great way to measure this progress will be by implementing projects. Students will use these skills in an authentic way, and will be judged by their peers in how well they can come together to get something done.
However, I think there might be room for a more conscious effort to address morality and character in this book. There is a Youtube video posted by John Green where he spoke about the purpose of school, and how nations fund education because we collectively want our kids to grow up and make our lives better, and so that we have some common idea about how to act. I would add to that that we want to live around compassionate people, and that the people who are working the hardest to solve the biggest problems are doing so because they care about the people who are affected by those problems, and because they probably had a teacher somewhere along their journey who showed them that caring about each other and taking care of one another is part of what makes us human.
My 7 Survival Skills
- Adaptability - In my short three years of teaching, if there has been any common survival skill that I could not have gone without, it would be Adaptability. In Wagner’s book, Annemarie Neal talks about looking for people who are “able to manage disruption” (2008, pg. 31). At school disruptions are inevitable. Schedules change, days are taken for testing, hours are stolen for assemblies, and minutes are wasted by daily inconveniences. How we handle all of those things, and continue to work toward our goals in the classroom determines your success.
- Innovation and Simplification - In a conversation with a Dean at my school today, we talked for a while about his goals for integrating more technology in the classroom, and his role in the process. He said that if technology is not simplifying a task for him, or allowing him to do multiple things at once, he will not bother learning it. (Maybe in not such simple words, but the basic meaning was that). He said this because there are so many things that get added to his schedule each day, there is no time for anything else. He is constantly adapting to new situations and priorities, and technology is what he relies on to allow for that to happen.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving - Might be the most important skill on this list. This couples with girt, because even if you know how to do something, you need to be there every day to get the work done.
- Collaboration - Because my critical thinking and problem solving are not as great as all the people around me, but I am good at taking advice and ideas.
- Communication - People need to tell me how their ideas are better than mine somehow.
- Grit - Passion + Perserverance
- Curiosity - Always keeping interested in something. If you are not learning, then someone else is moving past you.
References
Green, J. (2012) “An Open Letter to Students Returning to School” https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=x78PnPd-V-A
Wagner, T. (2008). The Global Achievement Gap. New York. Basic Books.