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Greenville City Schools
21st Century Learning?
Andrea D. Townsend, Director of Career Technical and Special Education
November 18, 2019
How many times have we heard the phrase 21st Century Learning in the
last several years? It may be hard for us to count! Since Ohio
developed a new set of learning standards, the call for 21st Century
Learning has been at the heart of the education debates. So, what does
that mean and how can we help every student access 21st Century
Learning?
In order to best understand this phrase, it is important to recognize
the historical perspective. Fourteen years ago, Congress passed a
landmark piece of legislation best known as No Child Left Behind. At
the time it was seen as a bipartisan approach to ensuring that every
student in our nation had the best educational opportunities. Since its
inception, the law was highly debated and eventually we learned that
the outcomes were not what we expected.
With several lessons learned, our nation’s leaders once again agreed to
a piece of legislation that would govern education just a few short
years ago. This new law named Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was
signed into law to replace No Child Left Behind in 2015. According to
the Ohio Department of Education, “ESSA represents a shift toward
increased state and local control of elementary and secondary
education... that will ensure students across the country leave our
schools with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in
college, careers and life”.
ESSA required that states develop a plan for implementation that would
focus on educating all students, creating safe and supportive learning
environments, and encouraging innovation and extended learning
opportunities. Ohio used this as a foundation for the new strategic
plan called Each Child, Our Future. The vision for education in Ohio is
that every child is challenged, empowered and prepared.
As a parent, taxpayer and citizen of this society, I feel strongly
about the “prepared” part of that vision. That statement bodes the
question, what does prepared mean, exactly? At the surface, it may mean
that students are ready to go to college, military or work directly
from high school. And yet, each of those pathways leads to a state of
adulthood where your contributions are both as a direct result of your
choice and have a positive impact on the society, economy and those you
consider loved ones. How exactly do we prepare students for that?
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development’s Employment Outlook for 2019, “Middle-skilled jobs are
increasingly exposed to this profound transformation. We estimate that
14% of existing jobs could disappear as a result of automation in the
next 15-20 years, and another 32% are likely to change radically as
individual tasks are automated.” This revolution in the labor market
means a future for our society and the nature of our “work” that is
constantly changing. This makes understanding how to prepare our young
people even more difficult. We need to engage our students in learning
how to be ready to make changes. In a recent article in Forbes
magazine, the 12 most important skills needed to succeed in the world
of work are learnability, resilience, agility, collaboration, verbal
communication, written communication, empathy, creativity, problem
solving, leadership, negotiation, and technology. These are the skills
that are needed for success in the 21st Century.
If we have students who are leaving school without these skills, they
may not weather the storm of change facing our society now and in the
future. Our world including our workplaces are changing at lightning
speed and students who do not have these skills will not be equipped to
transition into and through adulthood.
Ohio’s educational leaders are hopeful to impact the changes needed in
education to prepare students with 21st Century Skills. Unfortunately,
data indicates that some groups of students do not have equal access to
opportunities to learn 21st Century Skills. One group is students with
special needs. According to the National Center for Learning
Disabilities students with disabilities struggle to be successful in
post-secondary learning opportunities and work. NCLD.org says, “Less
than half (46%) of working-age adults with learning disabilities are
employed, compared to 71% of adults without learning disabilities.
Students with disabilities are less likely to attend, persist in, and
complete postsecondary education. And if they enter the labor force,
they make $4 less per hour than their peers.” This reality creates an
opportunity gap for students with learning disabilities.
It is important to recognize that for most students with identified
learning disabilities, cognitive ability is average or better. It is
also important to note that in many cases social and economic factors
can present in students as learning disabilities. Moreover, identified
disabilities often result in less access to opportunities to learn the
21st Century Skills listed above based separate classes or limiting
programming designed only for students with disabilities.
Federal and state education regulations are calling for change to
address this. Ohio’s strategic plan calls for our focus to be on the
whole child. Federal laws such as ESSA and Perkins are calling for
focus on equitable access to all learning opportunities for each child.
And the National Center for Learning Disabilities is calling for
education to be inclusive. NCLD.org states, “NCLD believes that
neglecting to provide students with disabilities with these 21st
century skills and dispositions will further widen the opportunity gap
for these students.” Greenville City Schools is working hard to answer
these calls by providing high quality educational services for students
with disabilities that honor student choice, empower students to
persevere and offer comprehensive interventions and supports.
This shift in education is a journey and the teachers and staff at
Greenville are working hard to implement these shifts. Students of all
abilities and with diverse needs all deserve equal access to
educational opportunities because each child deserves to live the life
of their dreams. This work cannot be done without powerful partnerships
with families, community support organizations, and stakeholders. When
you encounter a new learning experience for children in our community,
consider the rationale for these educational changes and the future
expectations for that young person. When we work together we can
prepare all students to realize their dreams and have a positive impact
on our community.
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