Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor, eSchool News, asked for opinioins about the following questions. I've added my response:
JZ Q: Do you think the federal and state governments should be responsible for finding solutions to 21st century school problems?
Tablet PC Education Blog: No. Educators receive pay for making sure that students learn at least whatever the state says they should learn. Educators know how to do this. They prepared and signed a teaching contract to do so. They can and should resolve problems they encounter in schooling. They're not contracted or paid to say, 'Yes, but ...' They should resign if they cannot or do not make sure all students learn what the state pays the teacher for the student to learn.
Not all resolutions will occur within a school building (such as with online learning and in community college auto tech shop), just as most learning has always and will likely continue to occur outside of PK12 schools and curricula.
If any educator cannot increase learning in whatever the learning condition they're assigned, they should resign in order not to hurt the learning rate of more students. That's an ethical resolution to their predicament.
JZ Q: What 21st century skills do you think are most important for students to learn?
Tablet PC Education Blog: The most important skill for students to learn in school and any time is how to learn efficiently with and without teachers, what the most informed people in the world know, and whether or not any student is interested in learning any school subjects.
At the very least, students (without excepton) should learn how to earn a 100 percent score on state assessments. In the non-school world, that's an average and expected performance. And Yes, the global standard for average student performance keeps rising, perhaps faster than assessed state academic standards.
A 100 percent score by all students is an educators' duty. That's why states pay teachers.
A new survey by eSchool News shows that many educators prioritize 21st century skills.
Respondents also discussed that while the government is involved in the assessment process, it needs to focus more on finding solutions.
eSchool News Survey
eMail J. Zwang
JZ Q: Do you think the federal and state governments should be responsible for finding solutions to 21st century school problems?
Tablet PC Education Blog: No. Educators receive pay for making sure that students learn at least whatever the state says they should learn. Educators know how to do this. They prepared and signed a teaching contract to do so. They can and should resolve problems they encounter in schooling. They're not contracted or paid to say, 'Yes, but ...' They should resign if they cannot or do not make sure all students learn what the state pays the teacher for the student to learn.
Not all resolutions will occur within a school building (such as with online learning and in community college auto tech shop), just as most learning has always and will likely continue to occur outside of PK12 schools and curricula.
If any educator cannot increase learning in whatever the learning condition they're assigned, they should resign in order not to hurt the learning rate of more students. That's an ethical resolution to their predicament.
JZ Q: What 21st century skills do you think are most important for students to learn?
Tablet PC Education Blog: The most important skill for students to learn in school and any time is how to learn efficiently with and without teachers, what the most informed people in the world know, and whether or not any student is interested in learning any school subjects.
At the very least, students (without excepton) should learn how to earn a 100 percent score on state assessments. In the non-school world, that's an average and expected performance. And Yes, the global standard for average student performance keeps rising, perhaps faster than assessed state academic standards.
A 100 percent score by all students is an educators' duty. That's why states pay teachers.
A new survey by eSchool News shows that many educators prioritize 21st century skills.
Respondents also discussed that while the government is involved in the assessment process, it needs to focus more on finding solutions.
eSchool News Survey
eMail J. Zwang
