21st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How We Get There - 14

President Ken Kay of Partnership for 21st Century Skills wrote the Foreword for the book Enriching Minds for the 21st Century. Kay discusses and explains why the education system of American needs to be reinvented and restructured to adapt to the changes of the 21st century. Kay addresses three important points that answer why America needs a new model for education in the 21st century. One point he makes is that the world is changing. Technology is replacing blue collar workers. Global competition and collaboration has been accelerating over the past 30 years. More than three-quarters of all jobs in the United States are in the service sector (AKA - truck transportation, messenger services and warehousing). Kay's second point is that schools and student in the U.S. are not adapting to these changes. He emphasizes the fact that the public education system is not preparing students for the demands of the 21st century (economic, workforce, citizenship opportunities). He brings up the alarming high school dropout rate of 70 percent. Kids and teenagers are losing interest in school and are unengaged and unmotivated in their learning. He points out that benchmark testing, even if mastered, still does not prepare students for the expectations of the new economy. Kay's final point was that the U.S. has no clear sense of purpose for securing our future economic competitiveness. America is the most competitive nation in the world, but we still lack the skills needed to prepare future generations to be skilled workers in critical fields in order to remain globally competitive and on top. Kay provides a model of what the 21st century education should look like. The model focuses on life and career skills, learning and innovation skills, and information/media/technology skills. At the center of these skills is the foundation and knowledge of core subjects and 21st century themes.

I really like where Ken Kay is going with his ideas on this new education system. I agree that curriculum and instruction should be reinvented to help prepare and adapt our students to the ways of the 21st century world. I loved his quote:

"Without a clear and thorough articulation of the outcomes that students need, reshaping the infrastructure is premature...If you are building a house, it doesn't make sense to order the plumbing fittings before the architect finishes the design specifications. In education, 21st century student outcomes are the design specs for the rest of the system." - Ken Kay

I feel like the United States, currently, is trying to create an education system that does not work well with what our students are NEEDING to learn. At the least the focus is not on what we need. My other problem is that if we are so competitive with other nations, why are nations in Asia and Europe way more skilled in important areas ahead of America. Why have educational leaders not recognized this? And if they have, why have we not come up with a more effective approach? And while I'm on my soap box, why are teachers, parents, and school administrators not the ones making these decisions? Why are people who have no business in creating a new education system making all the decisions (mainly referring to the CCSS team)?

I feel like America has become too comfortable and content. We have become lazy. This needs to change.