Teaching 21st Century Skills Requires 21st Century Skills

 

  This past week I attended a meeting where Apple Education sales representatives presented justification for their products. It was a well put together sales platform that raised some great questions. During the presentation my mind wandered to the topic of 21st Century Skills.

The Partnership for 21st Skills is, by now, familiar to most educators. It is clear that if we want our students to be successful in today's economy, they must have knowledge and skills, at the very least, similar to those laid out in the Framework for 21st Century Skills. In my current position, I am constantly thinking about how to aid teachers in preparing students to participate in the 21st Century. When thinking about teaching "21st Century Skills" I came upon a realization that may be considered too simple and closed minded, but I think it is a great place to start a discussion. If we are interested in creating learning opportunities for students so they can acquire and apply knowledge and skills like those laid out by the Partnership for 21st Century skills (which I argue we should be interested in), then we need to hire or at the very least demand, that teachers have and can demonstrate their ability to apply "21st Century Skills." 

When I was hired for my first teaching position, the final interview (after a phone, lesson demo, writing sample, department level, and student level interview) was with the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and the District Superintendent. They both asked me questions that I did not think they would have asked me. I was asked specific content knowledge questions and questions about my technology use. Looking back on the interview the questions made sense. A district would not hire a teacher to teach history if they cannot apply the knowledge and skills required to be a historian. In a similar manner I argue that teachers must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills needed in the 21^st Century workplace if we expect them to prepare students for the 21^st Century workforce. If we do not have this expectation we are setting our teachers, and consequently our students up for failure.