An article from the blog “Curriculum Matters” (January 21, 2010) discusses one of the key problems in determining college readiness of students today. The bottom line is simply that high school and college teachers can not agree on what types of knowledge students must master in order to be successful in post-secondary life. The problem with much of this discussion is that no one is identifying the most important question: what skills are needed to be successful OUTSIDE of academic institutions?
There are very few college professors who identify “school skills” vs. “real world skills” the way that Ted McCain does1. At the same time, there are not many high school educators who want to realize that they must listen carefully to what college professors deem as important for student success. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter what forms of knowledge either entity thinks is important. What matters is that we adequately prepare students to be successful for the real-world by identifying skills that employers deem valuable.
Arguing over what collegiate ideas are important is a waste of time and detrimental to the success and development of our country’s youth. Perhaps, rather than arguing over these discrepancies organizations that represent both groups should sit down with real-world representatives to better assess the importance of what students are learning and whether or not it is valuable for the long run.
1McCain, T. (2005). What skills will students need for the 21st century?. Teaching for tomorrow: Teaching content and problem-solving skills (1 ed., pp. 1-15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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Wouldn’t that be…collaboration with student needs in mind? What a novel concept for the institutions charged with educating students…
I agrees fully that these dialogues need to happen, but what structures can be put into place to achieve this? I see a very large disconnect in the organizational structure of each of the players here. Not only are they not in alignment with each other or the real-world, they are adversarial toward each other (Writing Standards put in place instead of working with the secondary educational community to create change for example). Ultimately, if Universities want a different kind of student, they need a different kind of teacher, and the central irony is that they are the ones who train us! All of this is a little harsh though as Universities have started to ‘practice what they preach,’ at least in my area of North America. Change can just be so slow…
Thanks for bringing the article up Aaron, good food for discussion!
“What matters is that we adequately prepare students to be successful for the real-world by identifying skills that employers deem valuable.”
I would suggest being careful not to overly emphasize what employers value in your definition of real-world success. We are in an entrepreneurial age, and skills for self-reliance and independence are often at odds with the desires and demands of employers.
The only person who’s not going to fire you is you, and I think it’s very short-sighted to educate as per the wishes of people who don’t have a vested interest in your success. Even English majors can be entrepreneurs if they can (a) create value for society (b) have whatever combination of passion/skill/determination is appropriate for their situation and (c) has a well-founded (ie based on competence) sense of confidence in order to self-promote and leverage their skills and talents.
What I didn’t realize I was doing for myself through my high school and university education was developing knowledge and skills that meant I honestly never had to worry about whether or not I had a job. I did work for other people, but I always knew that I could leave and go independent at a moment’s notice, if necessary. In fact, most entrepreneurs don’t look at employment as as means of getting paid; we see it as “learning on someone else’s dime” where we can take risks and fail when it affects someone else’s bottom line. I learned a lot about how NOT to run an educational business, and had the freedom to experiment as an employee. But, when faced with an ethical/philosophical dilemma where I taught, instead of being forced to compromise or sacrifice out of fear of unemployment, I simply left. Employment is useful, but it’s risky to bet the farm on it.
Not to mention some of the most successful and satisfied people I’ve encountered learned to structure their lives so as to not need full-time employment. One of my tutors specifically did not want full-time work so she had time for her art and music. Knowing what gives us the most satisfaction allows us to accept lower paying jobs, or fewer paid work hours because we can also choose to keep our expenses low. By focusing education on industry, we forget that much of our happiness comes from leisure, and if we knew better what we actually enjoyed and how to incorporate it into our lives, we might not get stuck in the rat race of chasing money and promotions so that we can afford more fancy toys that attempt to fill the gaps in our lives.
Educational institutions promote academic independence, the skills to be self-reliant academically. Why then, would we set them up for a financially-DEpendent future?
Perhaps the answer to “the most important question: what skills are needed to be successful OUTSIDE of academic institutions?” is — the same skills the students will need for success within the [post secondary educational] institutions?
In no particular order, skills in:
decision making
determining priorities
studying to learn vs. get a grade
self advocacy
resource (time/money/technology/services) management
dealing with adversity and failure
Sadly, these skills are rarely taught in our high schools or colleges–and in fewer and fewer homes.