Sentiments On Common Sense

Feb 06 2009

I think we need to think ahead- 22nd Century Skills

Published by Andrew at 8:03 am under 21st Century Literacy,Digital Leadership,Principal's Blogs,communications,leadership,recruiting,redefining literacy,school communications,tech savvy teachers

I was always told that it was unsafe to be facicious when writing. Many people don’t get the subtly of the written language, and one might be accused of being a bit… well…. rude, or cruel, or STUPID…. or any other of the many derogatory names that are used in blogs today. So, when I started reading the article “When “21st-Century Schooling” Just Isn’t Good Enough: A Modest Proposal” by Alfie Kohn, I had to laugh, giggle and then it made me think. I immediately thought about my colleague and friend Jeff Utecht who states, adamantly, that the 21st Century is 9 years old. When are we going to start teaching the skills necessary be successful in it!

I have always admired Dr. Kohn. He knows his stuff. He communicates in strong, consistent and understandable terms. He has a strong sense of humor, and this article is buried in irony, sarcasm and thought-provoking imagery.

At the end of the article- the last paragraph- which is also published in the February 2009 issue of District Administration he states:

One last point. We will of course continue to talk
earnestly about the need for a curriculum that features “critical thinking” skills
– by which we mean the specific proficiencies acceptable to CEOs. But you
will appreciate the need to delicately discourage real critical
thinking on the part of students, since this might lead them to pose inconvenient
questions about the entire enterprise and the ideology on which it’s based. There’s
certainly no room for that in the global competitive economy of the
future. Or the present.

The question of the day: Does the readers of District Administration have the critical thinking skills to figure out that he’s trying to make a point?