Educating Students in the 21st Century: Part 2

 

 

By:  Mike Duncan, Superintendent

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” Albert Einstein

 What does it mean to think critically in the context of schooling? It is simply the process in which we develop an understanding of the world in which we live.  Education researchers, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins state, “To understand is to make sense of what one knows, to be able to know why it’s so, and to have the ability to use it in various situations and context.”  The process of developing an understanding requires students to think critically; that is, they…

·         Collect, assess, and analyze relevant information;

·         Reason effectively;

·         Use systems thinking (problem solving tools and methodology);

·         Make sound judgment and decisions;

·         Identify, define, and solve authentic problems;

·         Reflect on learning experiences, processes and solutions.

We are partnering with Spalding and Butts Counties to open a regional college and career academy.  In the process of developing the college and career academy, we surveyed and spoke with hundreds of regional employers and the message was clear:  employers are more concerned with what new employees can do, not what they know. The said give us young people who can think and learn; we’ll train them.  The ubiquitous nature of technology and the rapid pace of innovation creates a condition whereby those who can think and learn independently will thrive.  Our job is to teach students how to do it.  An Apple executive was quoted in an article I read as saying if you have to be managed you can’t work here.