One of the hottest slogans in education today is "21st Century Skills." Though it certainly sounds compelling--who could be against teaching our students the skills they need in this budding century?--this is much more than a feel-good, everyone-jump-onboard valence issue. In fact, it returns to prominence the long-simmering debate between "skills" and "content."
Common Core, a TBFI partner organization, is a leader on the content side, and today they've released a strong challenge to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. With a list of prominent signatories for its position, Common Core charges that P21's approach "marginalizes knowledge and therefore will deny students the liberal education they need."
If you've skimmed over this issue to date, it might be worth diving in a bit. Particularly intriguing is that Common Core has enlisted a diverse array of supporters, such as Diane Ravitch,????E.D. Hirsch, Jr,????Whitney Tilson, and????Randi Weingarten,????a number of whom find themselves on opposite sides of other debates. (Historian Ravitch just penned a very nice piece on this issue for the Boston Globe.)
Here's the thrust of Common Core's position:
As the global economy matures, it requires increasing levels of knowledge and deep understanding of the forces that shape our lives and our future. For these reasons, we must intensify our efforts to improve education...All students????????regardless of race or class????????deserve a first-rate liberal arts education, rich in the study of history, science, literature, geography, civics, mathematics, the arts, technology, and foreign languages.