I was surprised at first to discover that The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.p21.org) has been in existence since 2002, yet has only fourteen states involved in its state leadership initiative. On reflection, however, I realized that the numbers shouldn’t surprise me. Thornburg shows us that our educational system is still based on the agricultural and industrial models described by Toffler (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007b); as a country we have been slow to adopt the realities of the information age.
And that’s a shame, because technology is increasing at such a rapid rate that we are steadily losing ground. We are still struggling to find the time and resources to help our students achieve fluency in basic Internet use when we should be immersing them in the possibilities provided by the Read/Write Web.
It is encouraging to see that P21 not only advocates for technology issues, but strives to integrate core curriculum with emerging content areas; new literacies; and learning, thinking, and life skills. P21 President Ken Kay states that this approach is “the only way we can assure twenty-first century readiness for every student” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2010). Additionally, it calls for balanced assessment to determine student proficiency (recognizing that standardized testing alone is an insufficient measure) and promoting the use of modern technologies in assessment.
In P21's 2009 response to the Draft English Language Arts Standards, I was pleased to find emphasis placed on the need to provide clarification of the specific literacies expected in this content area. This is a critical component for success; if standards are unclear, educators will have difficulty adopting them effectively. There is reference made to the need for “fewer clearer higher standards,” echoing the issue of “trying to address too much content” put forth by Robert Marzano (Laureate Education, 2007a).
Perhaps P21 will be the driving force needed to bring about the changes our educational system needs to stay globally competitive. The emphasis on the importance of professional development alone is a strong indication of the dedication to its mission; in order to bring about the sweeping changes proposed there must be commitment to first educating the educators.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007a). Program Two. Making sense of standards. [Motion picture]. Designing Curriculum and Instruction. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007b). The Third Wave. [Motion picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2010). Fusing the Three Rs and Four Cs for 21st Century Readiness. [Motion picture]. United States: Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
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I was suprised that P21 only has 14 states involved. I understand as a country we have been slow to adopt the changes of the information age, but eight years is a long time for other states not to become a part of building 21st century skills. I would be curious to know there reasoning for not joining the partnership.
ReplyDeleteI am also curious to see if P21 will be what our country needs to bring changes to our current education system and help our students develop and build upon skills that will help them in the real world. I think it is important that we teach the standards, but I also see the need for students to gain information and skills dealing with technology, collaboration, and critical thinking.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007a). Program Two. Making sense of standards. [Motion picture]. Designing Curriculum and Instruction. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007b). The Third Wave. [Motion picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.
Roxanne Dobbins said:
ReplyDeleteKelly, you were surprised to discover that The Partnership of 21st Century Skills is active in 14 states only. Well, I was surprised that the state where I reside and teach in is one of the 14! I did not know this. I was wondering if my school district is going to partner up with P21 and bring our school into the 21st century. Right now it seems we are lacking in our technology training and our technology in general. It is a shame as you say because, yes, technology is moving along at a quick pace and we in education are going to be left in the dirt, and our students will pay the price. They will not be well equipped for the outside world and this I feel is an injustice to them. I too hope that P21 is what our educational system needs to remain globally competitive.
Kelly said:
ReplyDeleteIt is encouraging to see that P21 not only advocates for technology issues, but strives to integrate core curriculum with emerging content areas; new literacies; and learning, thinking, and life skills.
I agree. Based on what I was able to glean from the website I find that at first glance it is a very balanced approach that links everything together. I think this is great for potential buy-in by more educators.
I agree with Meredith that eight years is a long time. It leaves me wondering if the Partnership for 21st Century Learning will be something that becomes politicized within the nation and individual states. I really think that more larger coorperations need to step out and let the general public know what it is that they will be expecting from fraduates and new employees in the 21st Century. I think if this happens, we may see more support overall. Maybe soon more states will join the fourteen affiliates!
Debb
I, too, was surprised to see that there were so few states participating in this partnership. It has been around long enough for more states to participate in this. I am very upset that my state, New York, is not on that list. I was always told that NY is a forerunner in education and that this state is always on the cutting edge of education. That, however, does not seem to be the case. Looking further into P21, I realized how beneficial this partnership can be for education. I can't believe that this is the first time I have ever heard of it. I understand that there is so much information out there and that it is hard to be in the loop of it all, but with such a powerful partnership, I am surprised that it is not something that I was taught about. I am a recent graduate (2007) and I have not been introduced to this cutting edge information about the importance of 21st century skills. In fact, it saddens me to say, I do not believe that the university I attended offers these kinds of technology courses. I agree with what Dr. Thornburg said about our education system still being stuck in the agricultural age. I just hope that more partnerships, such as P21, can help us advance into the 21st century with our students.
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