I’ve been wondering why education hasn’t been changed from the outside in by the business community. It is the business community that is on the receiving end of the product of public education. If the public school system isn’t producing the highly skilled employees needed, the business community needs to be in the forefront demanding change. It turns out that I need not worry about this. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills organization is exactly the advocate for better education that I envisioned. They have brought together leading corporations with state educators to discuss the needs of our students. I found the Key Findings: Are They Really Ready to Work? a very compelling analysis of the precise reason education needs to be reinvented. They are starting by providing information and resources for educators. So far 15 states have joined the partnership. I’m happy to see states typically seen as lacking in foresight and resources such as South Dakota and West Virginia are partners. I’m deeply disappointed that my state of Maryland is not. We are next door to the capital and educate many federal employees. We should be at the front of the line in developing new curriculums and standards to meet the changing work place. Hopefully a quiet revolution is taking place in these 15 states. I am hopeful that a public revolt will eventually happen and all schools will become fully effective learning center.
Theresa - I agree that it is highly beneficial having the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and Common Core working toward providing a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. President Obama's Race to the Top program provides monetary incentives for states to align with the Common Core. Maryland did adopt the Common Core standards in June of 2010 - so hopefully your district (like ours) is working toward making sure the curriculum aligns with your state's adopted benchmarks, standards and objectives.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.corestandards.org/
It is critical that we prepare our students for the real world. It's understandable that they must learn the curriculum standards we teach, but just as important they need the skills to be able to function in society and the workforce of the future. Businesses use technology on so many different levels and we teachers need to learn those skills to implement in our classroom in order to successfully prepare our students.
ReplyDeleteLike you I was disappointed my state of South Carolina was not in partnership with P21. If this particular site is focused on preparing students for the future globally, then I think all states should be involved.
Well said! I believe your thoughts on collaboration between schools and the business world are on target. Sometimes I struggle to read through my content standards, knowing my students will not utilize each standard after high school graduation. Based on the Key Findings: Are They Really Ready to Work article, our students are lacking skills to satisfy their future employers needs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%! I think the corporate world is going to have to take initiative in helping out in the education of our upcoming future. Teachers and schools fight hard for better education at the school board and with the government every year. I think it comes down to having the eyes opened of those in the business world to see these are potential employees of their companies. I often laugh with my colleagues that teach third and fifth grade by asking them, "What does my fourth grader need to know before they enter the fifth grade and how are you preparing your third grader for the fourth grade?" These questions bring about great conversations and collaboration with the teachers in the school. Now, if the corporate world could ask us educators what we are doing to prepare our students for their offices, then our focus in the classroom would change. As Theresa stated, after the collaboration of the business world with education, our learning centers will become more effective.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, I teach in Ohio and there is a huge push for the teaching of 21st century skills. For example three years ago our school got a very large grant to update our technology in our building. Even though we had to do a ton of STEM (science technology engineering and math) activates in our building is was worth it. Ohio is also in the middle of rewriting our state standards to better fit learning for the 21st century and by 2015 our state tests are all going to be online. So to answer your question there is a push but I do not know how big of push compared to other states.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excellent comments. I spent 14 years on the business side and am continually surprised to see how isolated and stagnate education seems to be. Yes, there are pockets of excellence, but the overall environment evolves slowly. Our LA and math teachers articulate between grades as elementary teachers do, but shouldn’t business leaders and education leaders be doing the same. And if they do, when will we see the supports needed to implement these changes? My husband complains regularly about the lack of skills, but, more importantly, the lack of motivation and the ability to think for themselves, he sees in his younger employees. Change won’t happen until the majority of teachers are on-board. Those of us who see the need will implement it on a case-by-case basis and will make a difference in our classes. But until there is a wholesale change the majority of American students will graduate still lacking skills. STEM is the first important step, but as with most (all) of the great initiatives in my district it is not funded.
ReplyDeleteCindy, Thanks for letting me know about the Common Core standards. Either it hasn't been communicated to teachers or it has been but not in a way that caught my attention. I've been using the tech standards issued by Maryland Technology Literacy Consortium. I expect the two will blend to strengthen and expand the current standards.
ReplyDeleteMr. Primrose,
ReplyDeleteFrom reading posts throughout the class, it seems to me that Ohio is leading the way. How have you seen the state leadership in your classroom? Are you getting funding and programs or just unfunded initiatives (other than the one grant)?