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Dr. David Hopson |
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December 10, 2007 Diversity, globalization, 21st Century Skills, accountability, cyber-bullying, Google—this short list of words, their relative meanings and the impact they have on society is just the tip of the iceberg, when we consider how changes in education are increasing in speed, intensity and impact. Some changes are barely noticed, while others are a cause of great angst and debate. This was brought home to me just this past week, while talking with our community guests at the annual senior citizen concert and luncheon held at the high school. We expect the more traditional changes, from grandparents coming to see their last grandchild perform before graduating and going off to college, to those whose grandchildren have already left, or those who are just beginning their education. This change in the children we serve is a steady and almost comforting change. Within this cycle is pride in growth, pride in the students for their outstanding musical performance, pride in the demeanor of the students welcoming and serving our guests, and pride in the facilities that took the efforts of many people to accomplish. Changes that are less traditional are less likely to bring smiles to everyone’s faces, particularly in a rural school. One change is becoming cognizant that there are a wide variety of people involved in our community and the resulting need to be more encompassing when wishing others a happy holiday. With Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza all being celebrated this month, it is not enough to just say “Merry Christmas” and assume that this covers everyone you are speaking to. While some may gripe about changes like these, they are symptomatic of the changes throughout a world that appears to be shrinking due to improvements in communications, the speed of travel and the sharing of resources. It’s no longer enough to know only local traditions, mores and skills while blocking out the rest of the world, and still be highly successful in an interconnected global economy. As the pace of knowledge growth continues to accelerate, it will become ever more important to be able to access, decipher, rate and use information in an appropriate manner rather than try to memorize facts that become an ever smaller percentage of what’s known in the world. The so-called “21st Century Skills” encompass this literacy of knowledge and also focus on the need to work collaborative; thus the need to understand others, avoid using perceptions as reality, being cognizant of the range of things that may be construed as bullying and using search engines such as Google as a means to share knowledge. While we can, and should, be proud of the accomplishments of our students and staff in the many things that they do very well, we must also recognize that what’s outstanding today may only be acceptable tomorrow. As we look towards the future, we must acknowledge the increasing role accountability plays in the public sector (it’s always been a core component in the private sector) and recognize that change is only going to accelerate. We must be willing to adapt to these changes or risk being more and more irrelevant in the lives of our students and the role public education plays in the community. ### |
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