21st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How we Get There... dun dun dun

21st Century Skills: 

Why They Matter, What They Are, and How we Get There... dun dun dun

Ken Kay, among many others, are representatives for integrating "21st century skills" into the educational system in The United States. The valid points and data that Ken Kay brings to light is no surprise to me. Education is indeed on the threshold of a tipping point in public education.  The work force has dramatically changed and the largest demand for students of this generation is knowing how to work on a global scale and with diverse workers both domestically and internationally. Knowing content is no longer enough. The workforce demands skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communicating and presenting, collaborating in multiple languages...and so the list goes on. 

Isn't it true that educational institutions today are preparing students for job that don't even exist yet? I believe so. At this rate, technology is doubling every two years and as Ken Kay bring's up "more than 3/4 of all jobs in the United States are now int he service sector" (p. xvi). Translation= Manual jobs are being replaced by technology so that people can be interaction, collaborating and problem solving with each other. This means that no longer will workers be expected to perform routine work but instead accomplish high-level thinking tasks that will "empower" workers to be more productive and creative. Ken Kay states that workers without 21 century skills will be "relegated to low-wage, low- skill jobs." 

On a very different note, one thing that I learned from the article that really hit home was the high percentage of students who, for whatever reason, are not graduating high school. Kay claims that the high school dropout grade has reached "crisis proportions, with only 70% of students- and 50% of minorities- graduation from high school on time and with a regular diploma" (p. xvii). Why is this so traumatic? Nationally, Black, Hispanic, and disadvantaged students perform worse than their peers on national assessments and with the great demographics of the United states shifting, minority populations are growing at a much faster pace than the rest of the population. What does this mean for our future work force? What does this mean for society? 20% percent of children are already living in poverty in the US. Will there be a larger gap in America with the richer getting richer and the poorer getting poorer? How can education shift so that students have equal opportunities to learn these 21st century skills to advance themselves in life and in society? 

References

              Kay, K. (n.d.). 21st century skills: why they matter, what they are, and how we get there.