21st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How We Get There

Ken Kay, president of 21st Century Skills, discusses the reason why the education system of the United States needs to be revised to adapt to the changes of the 21st century.  He made three valid points: 1) the world is constantly -and rapidly- changing, 2) schools across the nation are neglecting to adapt to the changes, and 3) the United States has no clear focus on the future of our economic competitiveness.  Kay goes on to expand each of his three points.  Point #1 - the world is constantly changing.  Technology is replacing anything and everything such as garbage trucks and assembly factories.  Machines are programmed to take place of human beings' jobs.  Point #2 - schools across the nation are neglecting to adapt to the changes.  Kay states that the public education system is not implementing nor preparing students for the economic, workforce, and citizenship opportunities and demands of the 21st century.  Instead of trying in schools, students are dropping out because they fear of actually applying themselves in schools.  The current school dropout rate is up to 70% in the United States.  Point #3 - the United States has no clear focus on the future of our economic competitiveness.  Because students lack the 21st century knowledge, there is no one to maintain America's economic statuses.

I completely agree with Kay that schools are shying away from teaching students the 21st century skills that they need.  The education system should be reinventing itself to fulfill the acquired knowledge of those skills.  I also feel that students should learn how to think, learn, solve problems, communicate with peers, collaborate, and contribute as a whole.  Just reading from a textbook will help improve someone's knowledge, they need to engage and learn from each other.