Skills for the 21st Century

The vacation away from thinking has allowed me to think more about the skills for the 21st century. I came across a list of skills written for Tech Valley high, a local school designed to create a new learning environment in the Capital District in New York State.

These skills include:

Taking initiative in their learning and becoming “lifelong learners.”

Working successfully on a team.

Taking responsibility for their work and their learning.

Confronting and solving unforeseen problems.

Managing and planning for short- and long-term goals.

Presenting and defending what they have produced

What I find interesting is how different this is from the skills listed on the most current post on the work literacy blog.

I feel that there needs to be more integration between schools and work place in identifying key skills. I think Tech Valley High (which brought together experts from the regions schools, universities, business, policy makers, and community) is a good starting point for this discussion. I hope more people from various professions and levels of education can be recruited to discuss this issue on the work literacy blog.