I can offer some perspective from that business-industry point of view and as a “consumer” (if only working with recent graduates on teams and some informal mentoring) of the American public school system.
In reading the blogs of my classmates, I am encouraged to see that all of them are in the “transitional” stage in terms of their MILE assessments. (I will take it at face value that the survey was accurate, the respondents were able to express themselves accurately, etc.)
I detected a bit of discouragement from a few that they were “only” in the transitional stage. However, the great thing is that they and their districts have started to acknowledge the need for change but, even better, have taken steps to achieve those changes. On the other hand, I am worried that all of them are in the “transitional” in this literally globe-spanning if scientifically invalid slice of teaching. From a business-industry perspective, I know the U.S. can’t wait for another five to 10 years for schools to collectively “get it together” and contribute graduates from the K-12 system and post-secondary system who can contribute effectively from very early in their tenure.
I am encouraged that all of the practicing teachers see a personal responsibility to not just teach well within their own subject but also show a district-wide responsibility to move education forward. I am equally pleased that they recognize teachers can be their own worst enemies. From personal experience, I can safely agree that teachers are often the worst students and the most resistant to change (even when it can be shown to be in their own best interest).
I am, however, discouraged that so many of the themes – getting everyone on board, having open and innovative leadership, better tools, more time – are the same things that I’ve heard, well, at least since I covered education as a newspaper reporter in four different states and at least 24 different districts.
Time, the time to learn new technology and 21st Century skills teaching tools, time to apply them in the classroom, tempt me into this digression. 21st Century skills are “messy,” just as democracy is “messy,” and any process that puts humans in the center of things is “messy.”
This connects to time because, as one of my colleagues mentioned, she gives small groups time in her science class to discern and understand the steps involved in an experiment. How many schools can grant that kind of time, that kind of “messiness” with the dictates of No Child Left Behind hounding their every move?
I was also a bit surprised that only one of my colleagues even brought up the question of creatively teaching to a diverse student group. In my own workplace, this is a near constant challenge as we have rotating groups of off-shore IT personnel.
I was pleased that one of our colleagues commented, “The tendency of education to be separate from the world and exist only in learning institutions has to change.” Nothing occurs in a vacuum and let me extend that time-weary bromide by adding, that schools reflect that reality just as they reflect the society in which they operate.
Let me suggest because I didn’t really read it from my colleague’s blogs or read it in the articles. It must be a two-way flow of meaningful programming so that businesses get the employees they need while the schools get the support and recognition they need.
Yes, it’s one thing to solicit the input from local businesses on what kinds of skills they need. But it’s getting down to the practical. How many districts have partnerships/internships/apprenticeships that go beyond the Explorer Scout “gee-whiz, ain’t that interestin’” level? How many districts get students involved in the real world beyond granting time off to flip burgers or fold sweaters at Wal-Mart? I’m talking about meaningful exposure and not the silly posturing of Junior Achievement.
As a liberal arts graduate and unrepentant generalist, I want to hasten to caution against total and absolute kowtowing to the needs of business-industry in a school. The antithesis of what I’m perceiving as “21st Century skills” is the technologically adept drone who meets the letter but not the spirit of a job opening.
