The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Oh, to be an exemplar school... I am lucky, however, to at least be in a state that has partnered with the cause. Iowa currently has two schools that have been "crowned" as being exemplar schools for their work with 21st Century Skills. In the class I took through the University of Northern Iowa called "Technology in Education", we talked about and briefly reviewed this website. I was fortunate, in that, one of my classmates taught at VanMeter as they began their work as an exemplar school. The insight he gave to some of the things that they were doing was fabulous.
I love the idea of the 3 R's (Reading, Writing, and Math) and the 4 C's (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation) working together to cultivate our students into the type of citizens we want them to be. What I can't get my brain to wrap around, is the time factor. How am I supposed to find the time to allow students to be creative and innovative when it seems like there aren't enough hours in the day?
I would love the opportunity to sit down with an educator from an exemplar school and just ask questions. Find out what their day looks like, their curriculum, their assessments, their schedule. I see the value and I desire the shift, I just need help in seeing the vehicle and the path.
My previous principal I worked for told us that there is always enough time in the day if you don't worry about standards being met. WHAT, did she just tell us to ignore standards? Crazy, huh?
ReplyDeleteI would also love to talk to an educator from an exemplar school! I would love to know how they received their funding for all their technology. Did they fundraise, is is a private school, did they have a grants, did they have a grant writer, etc. Money really buy happiness in education-or at least an exemplar school rating.
Wow, Raegan... Seriously? What was her angle? I would love to know more about what she meant by this statement.
DeleteYou are absolutely correct, money can buy happiness in education. We are a district who is not desolate, by any means. However, we are definitely aware of costs and are strapped when it comes to spending. I'm sure having a grant writer is a tremendous asset. In my class at the University of Iowa, we had to find a funding source and write a grant. It is definitely a tedious task.
"I see the value and I desire the shift, I just need help in seeing the vehicle and the path." I love this quote from your post! So true and exactly my feelings! I do believe that sitting down with someone form the exemplar schools would definitely help. I have been very lucky to go observe in several other schools...many of which are far more advanced in technology that my school is. In two of the schools, I found that they live in districts that are more wealthy and has community support for funding and donating technology.
ReplyDeleteOur school recently partnered with a local BMW plant and had 30 desktop computers donated that they were trashing and upgrading. I think seeking partnerships like this would serve as a beneficial tool for any district!
Enjoyed reading your blog post! Hope you're having a great week!
Jessica Burnette
3rd Grade Math - Science
Woodruff, SC
Jessica, that is awesome that you were able to partner with a large corporation. That is definitely a huge benefit when it comes to technology funding. Just finding the source. I just replied to Raegan about grant writing and what a tedious task it is. It is definitely true that schools in a wealthy community have more opportunities for technology advancements. However, in middle to lower class districts, I do believe the opportunities are there, you just have to have willing people to search out those funding sources and seek out the grants. It takes a lot of time and dedication, and also someone who is gifted in grant writing.
DeleteHi Amber!
ReplyDeleteIn our school I have found great progress with planning, matching new curriculum using the Three R's. As we move forward, I agree that expanding curriculum, instruction, and assessment with the 4C's takes those skills one step further. As we move forward with the ever changing skills that are expected of our students, finding ways to incorporate these skills in ur daily routines, lessons are very beneficial for our class. Keeping consistency with these skills in our teaching helps our students by modeling expectations. I wish I had the opportunity to partner with such great corporations! I look forward to reading more of your insights!
-Rebecca DiCicco
Amber,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I felt that becoming an exemplar is school may actually be attainable by a school in my area. Initially, the schools that I read about had a completely different make-up than the average school, and it seemed almost impossible to reach such standards. I too would be interested in talking to a teacher at an exemplar school to learn more about the steps they took to get there. The multitude of information given through the p21 website makes it difficult to decipher what is the most essential when beginning a journey toward creating such successful students.
As for the amount of time needed, I am with you when you say there is never enough time. I do feel that some of these skills I read about can be infused into the subjects and areas we're already teaching. Instead of thinking of it as one more thing to teach, think of it as a different way to teach a certain lesson or task.
-Amanda Adams (Walters)
Amber,
ReplyDeleteFantastic post! I found myself grappling with the same thing this week as I examined P21's Framework: TIME! I also see the need for this shift in our thinking and culture, but it's difficult to see the path when it's such a different one than we are used to. I keep thinking about what I was prepared for and understand this need for a shift because I felt ill prepared when I started my career. One thing I keep coming back to is assessment. I hope this is something our country as a whole will address so that we are all on the same page with the skills that our students are expected to know and master to be college and career ready.
I would love to have heard more insight from your classmate that worked at an Exemplar school. Learning from others that are on this journey is one way to tackle this time problem!! I find myself trying to incorporate problem solving, critical thinking, and technology skills in with content, but I find that my lessons and units always go longer than expected and it's so frustrating! When we take time to really dig into some of these things, time is always a factor!!
Thanks for your insights!!!
Stephanie Battaglia