Browsing the p21 web site, the first thing I noticed was the list of corporate sponsors. Are these companies looking for potential market shares that come with the integration of more technology in the hands of students? Or are they genuinely concerned with training the next generation of future employees? Both?
"55 percent (of employers) say schools are deficient in preparing students with basic employability skills (such as attendance, timeliness and work ethic)" Who is responsible for teaching young people these skills? Is the school system really to blame? I think parents have, or should have, much more influence over these factors than the school. So is it the school not preparing students for the workplace, or the parents not preparing their children to be productive members of society?
I think that concepts presented on this website are definitely geared toward redefining public education to better fit the needs of the future. I wish I had the opportunity to try out some of the concepts in my own classroom, but I don't have a classroom. At this point, all I can do is sit and watch what the tenured teachers are doing and wonder how it fits into this initiative, or if it even does at all.
3 comments:
Tracy,
I really got that "advertisement" feel as well. However, I was pleased to notice that a lot of their resources were actually free if you downloaded them rather than ordering hard copies.
I did like some of the resources, in particular the little movie and the subject maps. Did you get to look at the movie? It is by the same author as "Ish" (Peter Reynolds), and it really speaks to your art-by-numbers comment in this week's discussion. Have you read it?
Regards,
Lisa
Tracy,
I agree, it felt very advertisement-like. However a lot of the resources were free if you downloaded them rather than ordering hard copy.
One of my favourite resources was the movie by Peter Reynolds they included, did you get chance to see it? Like his book "Ish",it really speaks to the art-by-numbers mentality you spoke of in your discussion post this week.
Regards,
Lisa
Hey TracyLyn,
Great point about the corporate sponsors. My university happened to have a lot of money donated/sponsored to it by Microsoft. Guess who also happened to employ a lot of computer engineers from my University? Microsoft! Coincidence?
That being said, I would still rather take the money to be able to run the program, then not have the program at all. I guess this in itself is a lesson.
Josh
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