It is imperative that we learn to teach. Education should not be poured into someones head. Teachers have to learn how to connect to the creativity of intelligent beings. Everyone has the capacity to learn something. I think contributions in education comes in various forms. As Sir Robinson stated in his lecture "Education is Dynamic". It is important for teachers to nurture creativity.
I use to be very interested in instruments, woodwinds to be specific. So, I started lessons in elementary school and I was bored by the time I reached secondary school. Everything had been so regimented up to that point and I was just tired of it. There was no room for creativity. I was not allowed to express my ideas relative to what I was doing. I was fed up and when I reached the tenth grade I gave up music.
There were other things that started to interest me such as mathematics and science. I got more support being involved in these disciplines. I felt a sense of freedom because I was quite good at it.
We have to be supportive and learn how to read various idiosyncrasies while implementing or teaching subject matter. It is important to understand intelligence, and that it has various forms. Not accepting the non-conventional can be dangerous because you may overlook brilliance and stifle creativity.
Showing posts with label 21st Century Skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 21st Century Skills. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
21st Century Skills: Fad or Not?
I am a product of several pedagogues over the past few decades. It appears that nothing has really changed over the past years as it relates to the 21st century skills movement. It is my belief that in theory P21(21st Century Skills), makes sense. However, implementation of these skills is another story within itself. There has to be some organized fundamental effort of implementation. The P21 movement is perplexing to say the least. The movement is more salient than in the past and therefore will garner more support as it undergoes the scrutiny of its pros and cons.
Its like anything relative to education. Various pedagogues go through something like a metamorphosis every decade. Trying to improve and move forward to a P21 type of pedagogy is daunting to say the least. Is this something that is old and is just being reinvented with new language relative to its implementation? Well I think that is a good question. I have read a few articles that have given me a perspective of both sides of the spectrum, proponents and opponents as well.
The one article that speaks critically about the expectations of what P21 is "The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21st-Century Skills". This article in essence is basically saying that the P21 movement is more of a political move to improve something that has been implemented. In other words a play on words to dress up old ideology. The writer of this article makes an analogy of the P21 movement with a class he took in high school. It was a course that was more hands on that dealt with a real world application of the content material. He goes on to say how he received an exceptional grade but learned little from the experience. In my view the reason for this was because he was not prepared with the fundamentals to understand the depth of what was being taught.
On the support side there is an article "The Workforce Readiness Crisis" that essentially says that America is not producing qualified individuals to compete nationally or globally. In part the author of this article clearly lays blame on lack of basic critical skills,most importantly applied skills. Well in my view this has some merit. My question to him, would be how much exposure he's had to the classroom over the last decade or so. Here again, in theory the proposed pedagogy of P21 makes sense indeed. The reality of being prepared for the workforce is extremely valid because when its all said an done this will be the practical ground for demonstrating the professionalism and knowledge for success.
In conclusion I think both sides of the spectrum has validity as it relates to the P21 movement. It is not an easy task to confront. However, there is a need for continued dialog for a common ground of implementation. Yes, for me I am supportive of any pedagogy that is going to make our students more competitive but I don't think this is a panacea that will correct all the ills faced in education today.
Its like anything relative to education. Various pedagogues go through something like a metamorphosis every decade. Trying to improve and move forward to a P21 type of pedagogy is daunting to say the least. Is this something that is old and is just being reinvented with new language relative to its implementation? Well I think that is a good question. I have read a few articles that have given me a perspective of both sides of the spectrum, proponents and opponents as well.
The one article that speaks critically about the expectations of what P21 is "The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21st-Century Skills". This article in essence is basically saying that the P21 movement is more of a political move to improve something that has been implemented. In other words a play on words to dress up old ideology. The writer of this article makes an analogy of the P21 movement with a class he took in high school. It was a course that was more hands on that dealt with a real world application of the content material. He goes on to say how he received an exceptional grade but learned little from the experience. In my view the reason for this was because he was not prepared with the fundamentals to understand the depth of what was being taught.
On the support side there is an article "The Workforce Readiness Crisis" that essentially says that America is not producing qualified individuals to compete nationally or globally. In part the author of this article clearly lays blame on lack of basic critical skills,most importantly applied skills. Well in my view this has some merit. My question to him, would be how much exposure he's had to the classroom over the last decade or so. Here again, in theory the proposed pedagogy of P21 makes sense indeed. The reality of being prepared for the workforce is extremely valid because when its all said an done this will be the practical ground for demonstrating the professionalism and knowledge for success.
In conclusion I think both sides of the spectrum has validity as it relates to the P21 movement. It is not an easy task to confront. However, there is a need for continued dialog for a common ground of implementation. Yes, for me I am supportive of any pedagogy that is going to make our students more competitive but I don't think this is a panacea that will correct all the ills faced in education today.
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