P21: Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Better Understanding P21

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 What is it?  The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, founded in 2002 to bring together policy makers, education leaders, and the business community,  advocates 21st century readiness for every student.  The group highlights the 4 Cs of critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation by fusing them to 3 Rs.  I like the idea that classroom teachers are not doing anything wrong with teaching what they are, but that fusing the 4 Cs will enhance what they are already doing.  Here are the groups instrumental to the founding of P21:

-      U.S. Department of Education (provided 1.5 billion in matching funds to start)

-      Apple Computer, Inc.

-      AOL Time Warner foundation

-      Cable in the Classroom

-      Cisco Systems, Inc.

-      Dell Computer Corporation

-      Microsoft Corporation

-      National Education Association

-      SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products in data processing)

-      Time Magazine joins when P21 moves to Washington, D.C. in 2010

Information that Surprised Me:

     The California Department of Education State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson announced that California joined the National Partnership on March 21. 2013.  As a leading producer of electronics, dot com companies, and the home of the Silicon Valley and all that it represents, why was California not one of the first states to join to lead the way to better compete in the global market?

     Three members of Congress - 2 Representatives (1 Democrat and 1 Republican) and 1 senator - are working together to show their commitment to the 21^st Century Readiness Acts in the new 113^th Congress and were asking for support of other congressmen (February 12, 2013).  Those numbers seem small in a time when our nation needs to be more proactive in finding young leaders that can improve our economy. 

   Virginia is not a member yet but my home state of Ohio and one of my previous employers, the state of Oklahoma are.  I find that surprising since the county where I work is one of the largest in the nation and one of the more progressive for which I have worked.

   The Pearson Foundation launched the 21^st Century Learning Exemplar Program to identify and document exemplary learning practices.  Closely tied to the testing monster Pearson Education, is there hope that this study may affect future tests, and assessments may better reflect higher level learning and skills that will make a stronger, more significant impact on the workplace?

     On January 30, 2013, the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) joins.  This is a group whose core values have always resonated with me.  I am hoping that their addition will mean more attention focuses on P21 and visible changes and progress are made.

Information with Which I Disagreed: 

Although I did not find myself disagreeing with any of the information on the P21 website, there were two areas of concern that I did have:

-      The first is the verbage used as part of the explanation as to the goal of P21:  “21^st century readiness for every student.”  This sounds dangerously close to “No Child Left Behind.”  Yes, all students should be included.  Yes, all students need that readiness.  My concern is at what cost to classroom teachers?  In my opinion, NCLB has hurt many of our students.  What can we do as educators to make sure that any legislation created with their best interests in mind does not also put them at a disadvantage?

-      I don’t understand why it has taken over a decade to make more progress.  I am enamored with the idea of this group and the driving forces behind it.  It has all the players that I thought would have been necessary to create great change.  If major corporations like Apple and Microsoft can make changes in their products that cause us as consumers to line up in front of stores hours before new releases, why can those companies not urge the American public not line up to create improvements in our education system?  Why is Time Warner not publicizing programming that reinforces basic skills at the elementary and high school levels, or language programming instead of reality television? 

Implications for my Students:

     After becoming more familiar with this group and the recent announcements it has made, I can say that it sounds like help is on the way.  Learning more about P21 would be a great project to include my students in since our state of Virginia is not currently a part of this program.  This is the kind of authentic audience that my classes need to write to and persuade to be a part of this initiative.  I would hope that the ideas of P21 would enhance student learning and not create more standards for them to have to meet before graduation.  I go back to the idea of “fusing” the 3 Rs and the 4 Cs instead of simply adding them.  That distinction to me is important. 

My hope that the largest implication for my students would be that that their teachers become better trained as 21st century professionals, their classrooms continue to become more relevant to their future occupations, and their interest and ownership of  their education rises.

Please look at the site for more information:
http://p21.org/

References

"The Partnership for 21st Century Skills." The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. P21, 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.