How Should We Educate 21st Century Students?
As much as I’d like to predict the future, I’m a mom, not a fortune teller. Still, it’s part of my job description to make education choices for my children. I have to keep asking, and investigating,
How should I educate my 21st Century children?
Shift Happens
No, this isn’t a misspelled expletive. It’s the main idea behind a video, updated as Did You Know 2.0, that’s been making the rounds for a few years, engaging educators in a debate about 21st Century Education.
shift happens – We are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist…in order to solve problems that we don’t know are problems yet…
How are you helping my child become literate in the 21st Century?”
The debate centers on a question that I’ve been pondering for years, one that I will probably be mulling until the moment my children take flight from the nest, possible after as well. I’m taking another stab at it so that I can expand on a comment that I posted on one of the most interesting homeschool blogs, Christinemm’s The Thinking Mother.
Responding to the Shift Happens video, Christine asked, “How then to educate our children?” and then proceeded to answer this with a nod to Sir Ken Robinson, the TED Talks thinker behind, Do schools kill creativity?
A few days later, The Thinking Mother elaborated further in another post, The Best Plan I’ve Been Able To Come Up With. Christine’s Big Picture Plan encompasses many, if not all, the elements necessary to nurture strong, healthy individuals who can lead successful, independent lives. It’s an excellent plan, and as Christine says,
I have no clue if this is good enough but it feels right.
When it comes right down to it, most moms will agree, you just have to go with your gut.
My 21st Century Education Plan
I’ve come up with my own 21st Century Education Plan that “feels right” to me, as it furthers the same mission that drives all of my pursuits -
Inspiring creative life-long learners who want to make the world a better place – Learn, Grow, Explore, and Change the World!
With the help of the village that surrounds my children, I’m trying to ensure that we cover the following:
1. Classical Education - A core knowledge in Literature, Art, Math, History, and Science can be a springboard to creativity as it enables students to build on a firm foundation when producing something completely new.
2. Technology - Technology skills are basic tools that are needed to turn creative visions into reality.
3. Leadership – The ability to get along well with others, and exert influence, is the glue that holds collaborative creative projects together.
4. Passion – Passion for a project is what fuels creativity, and moves a collaborative project forward.
Is That All?
This isn’t all there is to my 21st Century Education Plan. Actually, as I tried to explain how we’re covering each of these elements, I found myself writing a personal manifesto that rivaled War and Peace. There is so much that I want to say, and it’s all so important to me, that I’ve broken it down into more manageable blog-sized chunks.
Stay tuned for more!
Your Turn
I would dearly love to hear your opinion. How do you think we should educate the 21st Century Student? Is your child learning what they need to thrive in our rapidly changing world? What’s right on target? What’s not?
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i really like your mission/values statement — it breaths…
i also appreciate your attempt to cover the big “chunks” — i was struck by couple things. “leadership” is fine but perhaps “global citizenship” is more encompassing (especially given your mission “…to make the world a better place”). we want our kids to be both leaders and team players/engagers/activists/partipants…being a citizen incorporates the understanding that we are part of a larger community. i might also include “curiosity” with “passion” since it seems both lead to a creative (and “life-long learner”) experience. finally, i wonder how we can nurture courage…our family recently watched the Disney movie “Nims Island” and I was struck by the comment about being “courageous”, something like: courage is not something you are or are not but something you choose everyday, in every choice…so how might we best cultivate that? ideas anyone?
Gabriella, thanks for your insight! I’m planning on enlarging on each of these items, and will definitely use your inputs.
Regarding courage, I think that providing a loving and nurturing home base is the best way to encourage this. Some kids are naturally more inclined to taking on risks, but knowing that someone will love them regardless makes it easier to be courageous for even the most timid. Then, give kids a chance to be independent, widening the net a little bit more each time.
Yes – I completely agree on the loving homefront…thanks for the comment. I also like the notion of intentional independence and building in opportunities for kids to be self-reliant. Great thoughts- thanks!
I have just finsihed writig my book on Courageous Leaders and eagerly look for insights into educating our future leaders so loved your insights! I believe as parents and as teachers we need to BE courageous leaders and through our very actions we teach our children and young people how to be courageous. And we need to take time to reflect on just how courageous we have been – how it felt and what results we achieved. If we could help our young people DO this then we are serving them well and obviously serving the world well. We desparately need more courageous leaders in the world – we need to be able to “believe” in people who lead us again as the Global Financial Crisis has left many people disillusioned!
Thanks for a wonderful and inspring conversation!
Cheers
Mandy
the world as a whole should come together to solve this problem on how to educate the 21st century student. to achieve a better world i think there should be no hoarding of power as some countries will do over others
The world is changing globally, so it is necessary for the people there in to change. From my perspective, the 21st century student can improve, if the developing and under-developed countries are developed, in the sense that,more CPU should be introduced into the schools, inorder to enlighten the students on how to change their world and the world as a whole.