• What are the skills that people need to succeed in the 21st Century?*
• Is it all about the technology, or are there different approaches to thinking and acting in the 21st Century?
• In addition to the core subjects, what should schools be adding to their curriculum?
• How should schools change instruction to meet the needs of 21st Century kids?

I’m not bringing up a brand new topic that hasn’t been discussed over and over in the “edublogosphere,” but I wonder to what extent these issues are discussed in education in general. In other words, if you don’t have a “techie” in the room (and that could be a technology integration specialist/facilitator or any other person in a school district reponsible for overseeing technology in the schools), do these questions ever come up? I hope the answer is YES.

Does your curriculum and instruction provide opportunities for your students to:

• tell stories?
• solve problems?
• take risks?
• question and explore?
• collaborate with others?
• create and invent?
• express themselves?

One of my favorite education quotes of all time is attributed to Roger Lewin: “Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.”

With the major problems in the world today, I don’t want answers that go nowhere (or that I could find myself). I want problem-solvers, creative thinkers, risk-takers.

Are your students learning these skills?

*Looking for a common definition of 21 Century Learning and the associated skill sets? Try 21stCenturySkills.org and click on the Route 21 link in the lower left corner of the web page.

photo credit: cgines. “Puzzle pieces.” cgines photostream. 26 Nov 2007. 30 Sept 2008. http://flickr.com/photos/cgines/2065486997/