21st CENTURY SKILLS v. ANY CENTURY SKILLS?

As I approach 40 years in public education I realize that bashing public education is national sport. Over the years I have seen, heard and read about the “crisis in education”.

In 1958, Life Magazine published an article that stated, “The facts of the school crisis are all out in plain sight and pretty dreadful to look at. People are complaining that the diploma has been devalued to the point of being meaningless… It is hard to deny that America’s schools, which were supposed to reflect one of history’s noblest dreams and to cultivate the intellects of our youth, have degenerated into a system of coddling and entertaining the mediocre.”

A few generations later, Education Secretary T.H. Bell created the National Commission in Excellence in Education. One of the Commission’s reports talked of a “rising tide of mediocrity” for America’s students that put our nation at risk in regard to our global competitiveness.

Now, almost 10 years into the 21st century, our students are still in a “crisis in education” with regard to global competiveness. The fact is nothing has significantly changed in education throughout the course of my career. When students across the county are asked what they know, even in international comparisons, they do well. Their responses when asked what they understand do not reflect the same result. When asked to use what they know and understand in real world situations, the response is mesmerizingly poor.

So what’s my point?

My point is (and what prompted this blog) is a recent article I came across by Andrew Rotherham, 21st Century Skills Are Not a New Educational Trend but Could Be a Fad.

• Educators , now more than ever, need to unite around the idea that there are new skills students must have to be successful in today’s economy;
• They should build upon blending the past pedagogies, teaching of content and values with 21st century skill sets;
• So that our children will be locally and globally competitive at a new level of past and present expectations, and more successful than we can dream in a time we will not see.

Kevin Castner, Ed.D.
Cambridge Educational Planning Strategist

Biggest problem facing our public schools?

What is the single biggest problem facing our public schools today? That is a question I have been asking audiences around the state for several years, and inevitably I hear things like insufficient funding, teacher shortage, unfunded mandates, death by testing, and so forth. While I cannot discount the significance of these problems, I do believe that they are all created by a much bigger problem.

Our public schools have a massive image problem and what we need is a really good PR campaign to change that image from one that is currently demoralizing and crippling the profession to one that strengthens public confidence and lifts up educators. Ask yourself why there is a teacher shortage? Would it be difficult to recruit and retain crew members to work on a sinking ship? It is equally difficult to recruit and retain teachers to join the crew of a public school system that is perceived to be sinking.

A good friend of mine is a Dallas firefighter. One Saturday night he stopped for a Big Gulp and while paying for the drink the lady behind the register suggested he buy a lottery ticket because the pot was up in the hundreds of millions. He had an extra dollar and decided to go for it. The lady behind the register then says to my friend, “I bet if you win you won’t be going back to work on Monday.” My friend the fireman looked at her, confused, and said, “What do you mean? Of course I’d go back to work on Monday. I love my job.” The lady looked at him with amazement and asked, “What do you do?” He responded, “I’m a fireman. I put out fires and save lives. I have the greatest job in the world.”

Firefighters do not have an image problem. They speak well of their profession and it is clear that they all love what they do. Why do educators have such a pervasive image problem? Chiefly, people don’t believe educators love what they do, and therein lies the solution.

We must better prepare educators to act as ambassadors for themselves, their classrooms, their campuses, their districts, and the profession. After all, educators put out fires and save lives in our schools every single day and it’s time they received the recognition and admiration they have earned.

Scott Milder

Cambridge Principal and Communications Strategist