We all draw on our past when it comes to judging education. Better yet, we judge education by how well the children are doing. We want kids to be prepared to live successfully in the world when they become adults, and we expect schools to prepare them. Their world is the 21st Century.
The Internet Generation
The Internet Generation, or N-Geners, consists of the students of today. What we need to be asking is: are our schools giving these students the tools they need to have a successful future? Our country is no long reliant on farms, manual labor and assembly lines to provide our professions. What will define our citizens in the future? What do our students of today have to learn to compete and thrive in our new society? While the answer can be found from many sources, I would like to explore what corporate managers and executives feel about these questions.
Tony Wager talked with a number of corporate CEOs and high level managers about what is most important to them in todays workforce, and reported his findings in his article Rigor Redefined (2008). The CEOs comments were surprising at times. In one instance, the President of BOC Edwards told Wagner that it was more important to find someone who could ask questions rather than who possessed the technical knowledge needed for the job. His reasoning behind that statement was that a good manager can always teach the technical parts of the job, but cannot help someone who cant think for themselves and ask relevant questions.
A great number of these high level managers shared a common desire to find employees able to cooperate as a team to talk over and solve the immediate problems their company face today. Educators need to understand these real world needs and prepare our students by providing the tools to help them contribute quickly in the real world. Provide real case studies and problems to solve and forget about standard worksheets that dont help the students think for themselves. If they have the opportunity to work in groups and present their findings in a real world way, they will be better prepared for the work force.
Redefine Rigor
Our schools must redefine their curriculum and their rigor if we are to meet the needs of todays children. I tire of seeing the packaged curriculum materials that have now become the curriculum, rather than support materials. It worries me that teachers no longer have to think about their lessons since they are provided in the Teachers Guides. Districts are requiring scripted Planning and Pacing Guides to control what teachers must teach each day.
A favorable rapport between student and teacher is critical to the learning process. A student must feel that their teacher understands where they are coming from and how they will learn the best. Teachers can meet this goal best when they are able to provide relevant lesson plans that their students can relate to.
Technology
Teachers today are educating the Internet Generation. As such, it is critical to integrate technology into the learning process as often as possible. Technology come naturally to our students, and it is our job to show them the practical and real world ways technology can be used. Our future holds classes and lesson plans using all forms of technology, including smart boards, PowerPoint presentations, cell phones and classroom response systems. These advanced teaching techniques are critical to the success of the Internet Generation and it is the educators job to embrace the opportunity to connect with the children.
Integrated Learning
To avoid the dry and uninteresting approaches found in packaged programs and planning and pacing guides, integrate reading and writing into rich content. Use social studies and science to promote and practice what was learned in reading and writing class.
The trend we are seeing toward cutting social studies and science to focus more on reading, writing and math in our school districts is disturbing. A simple solution is to integrate those subjects into the basic core skills in order to provide a rich and interesting curriculum to our students. A lack or social studies and science instruction will result in students unable to make connections and apply their knowledge to other subject areas, a critical component to lifelong success.
Many of us are trying to raise student achievement for kids in poverty. 16.66% of all school age children are below the poverty line. This means we have children who lack essential background knowledge and vocabulary of the middle and upper class peers. Focusing on tested subjects of reading, writing and math, at the expense of social studies, science and the arts only intensifies this trend.
Building of cultural literacy through social studies, science and the arts should become a mission for parents and teachers alike in order to provide all children a chance for a better life. It is a known fact that a person will learn something new much better if they have something on which to compare it with. School is often the best place to provide this knowledge, particularly for those students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Annual income has been found in numerous studies to be directly related to academic achievement, which in turn can be attributed to cultural literacy. As the Internet Generation prepares to become adults in the 21st Century, it is critical that they receive an education rich not only in the tested subjects of reading, writing, and math, but also those rich secondary subjects like social studies and the arts that contribute so powerfully to a students knowledge base.
About the Author:
Donna Newberg Long, aka Principal Donna has been in education for over 20 years. As the founding principal of 2 schools, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her consulting with teachers, principals and boards. Donna is available for consulting services for start ups and schools in need of advice. Visit www.AskPrincipalDonna.com for more information or call 303.280.5220 to discuss your schools needs.
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