Don't blame standardized testing, a tear in the fabric of traditional families or anything else. In fact, let's stop wasting so much time with the "Blame Game" in general. It's not productive and has no track record of producing improved results. In a manner of speaking, it's the Diet Coke of dieting.
What we need is balance, focus and a willingness to not just push the pendulum all the way to the other side in the name of solving a problem. In THIS ARTICLE from the Washington Post and reprinted on the mySA website, Jeffrey J. Selingo points out the top job skills schools aren't teaching well. Ironically, it's not our curriculum or learning objectives that are the issue. It's the soft skills. In a world focused on standards, higher order thinking and STEM/STEAM many are asking for professionals that have skills like "critical reasoning, creative problem solving, collaboration and basic digital fluency." Bottom line: they're looking for people who generate creative solutions, ideas, and approaches, not right answers. There's a key difference between the two. A right answer means everyone should arrive at the same place. There's no variation and often times many take the same path because it is obviously the most efficient one. Creative solutions bring about new meanings to old understandings. They push boundaries. If answers are generated, they're often unanticipated or push beyond what was thought to be possible. We've got to push students past answers and regurgitation. We've got to create avenues for students to develop the soft skills in conjunction with the technical. I highly recommend reading the entire article.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJeff Lahey Archives
January 2020
Categories
All
|