Next week's issue of Time magazine arrived today. The splash on the cover read, "How to Build a Student for the 21st Century." The authors, Claudia Wallis and Sonja Steptoe write commentaries on a variety of social and family issues. I was intrigued--what did they have to say on the topic of public schools?

These authors, like many others, take the stance that public schools are basically the dinosaurs of social institutions. For the most part, I agree. Despite the rhetoric and push for increasing academic requirements, students still spend 6 to 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, ensconced behind desks, listening to lectures or committing facts and figures to memory. Yes, there are exceptions to the norm (and there are some exceptional public schools); but, this is still the typical modus operandi at most public schools.

Wallis and Steptoe marvel that so few have looked beyond the topic of increasing standards towards developing ways and means of facilitating learning for the 21st century. They comment that this conversation is only now about to "burst onto the front page" (52). Interesting. Seems to me Daniel Pink broached this topic in his book, A Whole New Mind. At any rate, the concepts noted in Wallis and Steptoe's article and those proposed by Pink appear to run along parallel lines.

Wallis and Steptoe write that public schools need to develop programs and curricula that help students gain the skills they need to (a) think outside the box, (b) interact with people, (c) learn about the world they live in and (d) use the resources they have in new and interesting ways.

Daniel Pink, I think, would refer to this as the need to shift from left-brain thinking to right-brain thinking. Or, as I stated in a previous article, Pink believes that we're moving into a conceptual age and the major employers and careers will be in areas that heavily target right-minded people. We'll always have a need for accountants, analysts, researchers and the like; but the businesses of the conceptual age are likely to outsource these activities and keep only those employees that can understand the context of situations and see the bigger picture. And of course, what we do with PreK-12 education has a direct impact on the individual's ability to operate in a right-brain world.

Perhaps the one truly important thing Wallis and Steptoe bring to the table is that public schools need a heavy dose of reality. What our children need to be successful in the 21st century are real-world skills. Teaching a child to add 2 + 2 and come up with 4 is meaningless unless the child also learns how to relate this concept to his/her world (i.e. 2 apples + 2 bananas = 4 servings of fruit).

Learning in context. Real-world concepts. Dynamic/creative activities. Big picture thinking. What a concept, hmm? We just have to toss out the standardized curriculum, standardized testing, 8:00 - 3:30 mentality. It could work...

Until next time!

Lynn Byrne

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