Are Schools to Blame?

The article “Rigor Redefined”, by Tony Wagner from Educational Leadership criticizes schools and the way students are learning.  He claims that the schools are not preparing students for 21^st century jobs.  Wagner spoke to many high authorities in common jobs and asked them what they look for in a person when considering hiring them.  The majority of people answered they were looking for people who could ask good questions, problem solve and work with others.  After speaking to many people he kept drawing the same conclusions; our schools are not teaching students the right skills.  Wagner developed a list of seven critical skills needed in most jobs.  Wagner’s list named:  critical thinking, collaboration and leadership, adaptability, entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written communication, analyzing information, and imagination.  After Wagner collected all of his information from interviewing people he set out to see if schools were teaching students any of the seven skills on his list.  He concluded that most classes were not doing an adequate job of preparing students for jobs.  He found that even AP classes failed at preparing students.  Many classes he observed did not teach a single skill on his list.  The classes did not incorporate group work; many times students sat in silence working on worksheets or papers.  The students were very bad at analyzing information and had little or no imagination when answering an open ended question.  If the question did not have one correct answer the students were incapable of answering.  Throughout the article Wagner stresses that “our students’ futures are at stake.”

I completely understand where Wagner is coming from, but I think it is easier said than done.  Many people would agree with Wagner’s point, but taking action is the hard part.  How do you teach critical thinking or problem solving?  Schools do not purposely try to under prepare students for jobs; it is difficult to teach the important skills and keep the structure of school.  The seven skills are not the only skills needed for jobs.   If a person wanted to become an engineer they would not get hired if they had good leadership skills, and no math knowledge.  The basic subjects of school are still crucial to obtaining a job, but now students are held accountable for more than just knowledge.  How do we combine both groups of skills?  Teachers need to be able to hand out grades and tests to determine a student’s understanding level, but how do they give a test on leadership and collaboration?

Teachers can be held accountable for teaching group work, collaboration, written communication, and oral communication, but they cannot be blamed for not teaching skills like problem solving and interpretation.  A students mind set is also a fraction of the reason they seem unprepared for jobs.  If a student has a positive mind set and wants to learn more and take thinking farther, then they will be more successful.  A student that does not care about learning and does only what is asked of them or even less will be less successful in their personal career.  The student eager to learn is able to apply the basic skills they learn in school to outer world activities.  The engaged student develops more skills and takes them farther in their life.  How does a student become an engaged learner though?   I believe that this type of student develops the skills to apply information early in life.  In early school years a student must want to go to school to learn more and be creative because this mind set will stay with them for the rest of their life.  How will schooling change to prepare students for their future?  How much can really be changed if it is not completely the schools fault?