21st Century Student

I liked that this article stressed the importance of creativity, interpersonal skills, and emotional intelligence. These are all vital skills to succeed in life, and ones that I definitely think get minimized in today's school culture. Creativity and "thinking outside the box" are wholly at odds with standardized tests and uniformity.

However, I did have a few questions. Throughout the article, the authors stress the importance of interpersonal skills, yet in reality these concepts (reading nonverbal cues, sensitivity, teamwork) are somewhat at odds with today's technology culture. More and more we are becoming a solitary nation and can only read the words someone types---not the facial clues and emotions that accompany them. While I certainly agree that increasing interpersonal skills is an excellent idea to build a more unified generation, I also think the author neglected to address this disparity. How can we reconcile wanting our students to be aware of others' feelings and actions while simultaneously our culture moves toward a more solitary existence---with communication taking place online or over text message? I think this will be an important skill to teach.

Further, I agree with John who asked what would get "lost" if schools focused more on these new skills. Certainly there is wasted time in the school day, but there is also beneficial traditional learning going on. Do we forgo gym to learn social skills? Do you forgo science to learn creativity in art? Or do you find ways to infuse traditional lessons with these skills?

To teach these skills and to connect with students' 21st century sensibilities, I would include these in my curriculum:

---Read a book about people in another country and video chat/correspond with people from that country. Students get to learn communication skills and appreciate other cultures while utilizing technology's benefits.

----Write plays and act them out to engage emotional intelligence, to require students to embody the thoughts and feelings of someone else

---When teaching Shakespeare, encourage students to find popular songs with similar themes. (ie--Romeo & Juliet themes in Taylor Swift's "Love Story"; themes of Hamlet power struggles in Jay-Z's "Dig a Hole"). This would allow students to connect their reading to modern day and to also gain a grasp of the emotions at work in the literature.

--Have elementary students & high school students collaborate to write a children's book; this would teach the effectiveness of simple communication and require students to adopt a leadership role.

---Have an "interview" day. Students must "interview" characters from novels and must perform as a real interview; students must learn handshake skills, clarity of language and emotions, and must show their mastery of the character.