Being Deliberate

Today's scan of the collection of ideas and information gathered by my Google Reader included an Education Sector article by Andrew J. Rotherham. Mr. Rotherham points out that the need for critical thinking, problem solving and global awareness are nothing new. These skills have been necessary for advances throughout the ages.

What has changed is the need for the masses rather than the few to be trained in these areas. We can no longer hope students will be lucky enough to have a great teacher somewhere along the way who has the foresight to purposely structure instruction to address the challenges of the 21st Century. Schools and school systems must be "deliberate" about teaching these skills to all students.

The state requirement to develop new School Improvement Plans provides a wonderful opportunity to pause, reflect and make a dedicated effort to revise instruction with a focus on integrating 21st Century skills in every classroom. Let's stop preparing students for our past.

Let's make a deliberate effort to prepare all students to

meet the challenges of their future.

Read the complete article at http://www.educationsector.org/analysis/analysis_show.htm?doc_id=751582 .