In case you missed it, Diane Ravitch’s recent Boston Globe op/ed on 21st century skills has been reprinted in the October 10th edition of the Providence Journal (ProJo).
We also recommend Nancy Kalish’s article in the November 2009 issue of Parenting magazine, “Why Art Makes Kids Smarter,” which explains why the arts are important and highlights how some schools are using arts instruction to improve academics.
This is by far one of Diane’s better pieces of late.
Too bad so much of her other work goes toward thwarting the very processes designed to return us to a world where knowledge matters.
‘Tis true those same processes (generally “The Tests”) are a far, far cry from any real sort of measure of content knowledge. Many, if not most, of them may border on the absurd. Yet NCLB’s purpose and plan was to tell teachers exactly the message Diane here writes: Knowledge should be valued.
So, let us to stop wringing our hands that group A wants to assure that kids learn to use Ning and MS Project; that State B this year decided to move the “proficient” bar 7 points to the left.
Let us get to the serious business of providing teachers the tools and processes to teach both energy quantization and teamwork; planning skills and the Balcony Scene, Ning etiquette and the criticality of the battle of Agincourt.