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From the Desk of Bill Cirone...
April 9, 1999
Preparing Students for the Information Age
The U. S. Labor Department Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) released a report on what students would need to know and be able to do in the future.
The report concluded that:
o All American high school students should develop a new set of competencies and foundation skills in order to enjoy a productive and satisfying life.
o The qualities of high performance that today are the traits of our most competitive companies must become the standard for the vast majority of our companies, large and small, local and global.
o The nation's schools must become high-performance organizations in their own right.
Several characteristics have been identified in schools that will help prepare students for global knowledge in the information age. But first, the definitions of "school," "teacher," and "learner" will be reshaped by the digital world.
To date, the term "school" has generally been used to denote a building. While buildings will continue to be very important, the term "school" will take on an expanded meaning in the future, far beyond the physical structure.
"School" will become an even more encompassing term, embracing communities of learning that span interests, communities, and the world. While there may always be a school building, it will differ in design and purpose. A school will likely become more like a nerve center or switching station that connects teachers, students, and the community to the wealth of knowledge that exists in the world.
Along with this evolving design and purpose of schools, the term "teacher" will take on a mantle of even greater professionalism. Teachers will become those who orchestrate learning because students will have access to a world of information through the Internet and many other sources.
Teachers will need to become facilitators and moderators as well as purveyors of vast amounts of knowledge. Though they will have to be subject matter specialists they will also direct students toward other sources and specialists.
According to the U.S. Council of Advisers, "Teachers need to understand the subject they teach and be able to get it across to students. At the same time, they need to be able to put that information and knowledge into a broader context and nudge their students toward wisdom."
Out of both necessity and practicality, lifelong learning will become a part of everyone's lives as we move into the 21st century.
As we consider the term "learner," we need to think about preparing students for life in the real world. We need to be more flexible in how we teach because students have different interests and talents. If we don't help all students develop to their potential, we will pay the price of neglect. The simple fact is, we can't afford to lose a single child.
© Santa Barbara County Education Office
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