Teachers need the same skills as students

I recently read an article which outlined four essential skills students need in order to be successful in the 21st century. These four skills were:
1. knowing more about the world
2. thinking outside the box
3. being smarter about the sources of information
4. developing good people skills.
The article declared our children need to have an education that delivers opportunities for learners to develop each of these skills. It backed up this declaration with quotes from a variety of business and education leaders.

As I read the article, I thought, "Yes, these are the skills our students need." Then I thought, "So do teachers."

Knowing that I must first possess each skill before I can teach it, I looked at each one individually and came up with ideas on how to jump start my own 21st century education. Here's what I came up with.

I started with the first skill, knowing more about the world. The world has shrunk as much for teachers as it has for our students. No matter where you live, small town America, the inner city, suburbs, farms, major metropolitan areas, the entire world is available to you via the internet. We are all global citizens. We must teach children how to live in the global society by first living in that society successfully ourselves. Where to start? Investigate foreign cultures, learn a new language. Take a small and deliberate step to enlarge your world.

Skill number two was thinking outside the box. The article expressed that interdisciplinary combinations such as design and technology, or mathematics and art are the type of thinking outside the box which has provided us with the many advances of our age. Google and You Tube were given as examples of such creative thinking. How do we make sure we are challenging our students to think across the disciplines? We start with ourselves. First, our personal approach to challenges should reflect a conscience effort to think outside of our norm. A realization that we must "live it" to "give it" should guide our own problem solving efforts and encourage us to be broad thinkers. Second, we should commit to thinking outside the box during our lesson planning. We must purposefully provide learning opportunities that require interdisciplinary combinations. This conscience planning must take place consistently. Third and most importantly, we must celebrate this kind of thinking when it occurs.

Skill number three as outlined in the article was being smarter about the sources of information. We have more information available to us now than ever before. But, all information is not created equal. We have to teach our students how to decide what information is credible and what information is not. This is a tricky skill. A skill that must be practiced personally before you can naturally pass it to others. Are you in the habit of checking sources? Or do you assume that if it's on the internet it must be true? The next time you're surfing the net, look around at the source of what you find. Develop for yourself a short set of questions you can ask when sorting and sifting information. Then help your students develop their own litmus test for information.

The fourth skill the article spoke of was developing good people skills. The emphasis was put on collaborative learning- problem solving in teams. This was one area in which I felt fairly confident. I have used collaborative learning for quite some time. But as I continued to read, I came across a statement that made me pause. The article said, "...the ability to work in teams and with people from different cultures." The moment I read the end to that statement, I realized I had more work to do. How do I create the opportunity for my children to work with people of different cultures? It is possible, it will take planning. I bet if you're still reading, you have many ideas in your head already about how to make this happen. Just as I experienced a flood of ideas when I read it. The amazing thing is I had not thought about that aspect of team work until I read the article. So, as a beginning step in working with people of other cultures, I recommend that you read from a variety of sources. Take your head out of the education journals and read a magazine out of your comfort zone. Start building some schema for other cultures. Then build on that schema and branch out further. Remember from skill one, we are all part of a global society.

In conclusion, the skills outlined in the article are important for our students, but I believe they are equally important for our teachers. We must make a deliberate effort to grow ourselves if we are truly going to teach our children how to live successfully in the 21st century. Start with small steps. Be consistent in your personal growth. Celebrate successes along the way- no matter how tiny.

personal growth

I am currently undergoing the "studying" phase of personal growth and development. I am reading the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and participating in Oprah's 10 week class on Eckhart Tolle's book A New Earth. I have just finished reading the book, The Secret.

I am taking it all in and wondering when will the growth occur? When will the inner peace come? I wake up every day thinking, "Today will surely be the day. The big event will happen today for sure, right?"

I know I'm ready for the new challenge. After all, I am steadily juggling my husband, two children, mother, traveling and major home renovations... What is the world waiting on? Shouldn't the next big move happen during all this?

Maybe that's the key to personal growth and development. I don't get to decide when it happens. You know, give up the control and then viola. Maybe that's the whole lesson...Well, being the educator that I am, all that I can do is keep studying and hope to be completely prepared when the opportunity to shine arrives.

In light of that, I'm off to read more. You never know, tomorrow might be the big day of development and opportunity.

Am I old enough?

Am I really old enough to have a son who is driving? On the first day I sat in the passenger seat as the "experienced driver" I looked in the mirror on the visor and I thought to myself, "This means I'm the old one here." What a shock to my young system! How can it be that my oldest son is old enough to climb behind the wheel of a car? Oh my, where did the time go? Long days, short years.

From rear facing car seat, to forward facing booster... Under 12? No, you're not allowed in the front seat due to the air bag. Oh, but three years later you can have the keys and drive all day- by yourself! How quickly time passes... Is three years in the front seat long enough to be sure a child can really drive?!

Look out world there's one more driver on the road... and he's only 15!

playing in a traveling band...

Another part of my life in the fast lane is my weekly trips to visit my mother- AKA "Grandma." She has recently moved into an assisted living facility due to stroke and the onset of Alzheimer's. I believe she is doing rather well in her new home, but I feel like a member of a traveling band. I keep an overnight bag 1/2 packed. Every Monday, I think about what day we'll be on the road again so I can pack for my seven year old and figure out whether or not to take the teenager.

This week we were unable to travel because I was afflicted with a terrible cold. This is not the sort of gift you take to the elderly. We stayed at home. I regret to admit that my bathroom is still tinged with crud that is growing daily. Whilst mold and mildew are becoming part of our new norm, it is not a part I desire to hold on to.

I had the delusion that being home all weekend would allow me the time to get in there and clean it up, but this did not happen. I think now it could be my lack of desire to do the "clorax dance" that is inhibiting me- not so much the cold. Upon writing this, I have a guilt feeling- also part of the new norm developing here...- I should take care of this problem.

Off to clean the crud... we travel next week!

today's issues

Nothing can disrupt your "norm" like problems with a child. My youngest child is really struggling with school right now. I want to make it right for him. Our new "norm" will now include time digging into the problems to find out how to help him learn. There will not be a band aid that will fix the issue. We'll have to regroup and all learn new ways to help him be successful. We will develop the new norm of how, when, and where to do homework. This is just one more change to which we shall adapt. Bless his heart, he wants to do well. My task now is to be sure he is afforded every opportunity to do so.