From Ray Schroeder: An article by Edward J. Barboni, Senior Advisor, Council of Independent Colleges, and Independent Consultant decrying the poor preparation of teachers and undergraduates in general to cope with the demand for 21st century skills has really stuck with me because it has led to a personal conflict.

On the one hand, I have always used a student-centered approach to learning, from a reading workshop when I taught language arts to indivdual and group projects when I taught communication skills in the computer lab. I wanted students to take ownership of their work, and I tried to find ways to bring out their voices in the classroom and lab. In my heart, I know what the 21st century skills people are talking about and sympathize. I was often bored in school, rarely asked to write anything of any depth, and generally rewarded for my ability to recall information.

Yet, as someone who works with pre-service educators, I feel a little insulted. We are working very hard to open our students to new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. Barboni’s negative view of schools of education seems one-sided:

So, whether it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Microsoft, Masterfoods, or any of the thousands of other corporations in the country, the challenge they face is that the nation?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s high schools don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t produce enough graduates with 21st Century skills, our nation?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s teacher preparation programs don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t produce enough new teachers who know how to ensure that high school graduates have these skills, and our nation?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s undergraduate programs don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t produce enough graduates with these skills at high standards of performance.

Two questions immediately pop into my mind. I have 21st century skills. How did I get them? Especially since I graduated from college in 1984, nearly two decades before the 21st century? Certainly, if no one is teaching 21st century skills now, they weren’t doing it in 1987 when I got my teacher’s license! What about Mr. Barboni? Does he have 21st century skills? How did he get them?

My second question has to do with definitions. There doesn’t seem to be a list of actual 21st century skills. Instead, there are elements of 21st century learning. They do offer a definition of literacy that draws from Alvin Toffler:

“Against this backfrop, literacy in the 21st century means more than basic reading, writing, and computing skills. It means knowing how to use knowledge and skills in the context of modern life. As writer Alvin Toffler points out, ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.’”

So, when I turn to an online discussion board for help with a computer problem, use an education portal to access resources for the classroom, or log into Lexis Nexis to search news articles online, I am using knowledge and skills in the context of modern life, right? How did I learn to do that? I taught myself. And lots of other people like me, who couldn’t possibly have learned 21st century skills in school, have taught themselves both how to use the computer and how to use it to be more productive. It seems that somewhere along the line, they learned to learn. According to Mr. Barboni, it wasn’t in high school or college.