21st Century Learning

One of the greatest endeavors in life is the pursuit of new knowledge. Therefore, one of the most important things we can share with students of all ages is the love of learning. The high-stake testing that is currently consuming our district is a bit frustrating. We are pretty much losing 2 weeks of class time to test students in 3rd through 10th grade on facts and figures. I recall a student survey from a few years ago where students were asked about school. We did receive many encouraging answers, but we also received several not so encouraging answers such as “so we can do good on the CSAP” (CSAP is the standardized test here).

As we embrace the next millennium, we need to consider how we can best serve the upcoming generations. Do we continue to education them the way we have always educated children? Do we open our hearts and minds to new ways of educating; perhaps even changing the very definition of what it means to be educated? I have mentioned this before, but the high drop-out rate of high school students in our country is abysmal. It is clearly a symptom of a system that is not working.

In this blog I want to share innovations that are being used throughout the country to expand student thinking and learning. I want to hear about new technologies and new strategies.

Please use the comment field to share your ideas on what a 21st century education should look like.