Updated 21st Century Skills Response

These are my reactions to the website http://www.p21.org/:
*My reaction to the website:
I was impressed with the clearly defined goals set forth by the organization. I thought the website was laid out in an easy to navigate manner. The goals were clearly defined and logical.

*Information that suprised me:
My reaction to the website was one of surprise. As I read through the list of supporters for the partnership, I was impressed by the highly recognizable names. From Disney to Mcrosoft, the list of supporters immediately lent creadibility to this partnership. My attention was focused on the importance the corporate world is placing on these skills.

*Disagree:
I disagree with the push to create large-scale summative assessments. What would this type of assessment have on funding, additional pressure, socio-economic advantages, and more? 21st century skills are important for the sake of the children, and it is important that as an educator I am aware of the importance to include these practices (collaboration, higher level thinking, and more) in my teaching. I am also aware of the leverage that can take place with testing and its results, and I know that it can directly affect the school climate.

*What are the implications for my students and myself as an educator?
It becomes obvious that there needs to be some type of accountability for incorporating 21st century skills within the learning enviornment. If businesses have made educators aware of the expectations concerning the workplace, and we fail to deliver, than we are cheating our students out of the experiences we know that will help them succeed now and in the future.