<<<<<Missing here is Citizenship - the 5th C
There is no doubt that I was profoundly influenced and uplifted by the book I read The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley. Her writing was so easy to read and was very clear on what she had to tell about education in the rest of the world. While I was reading, I constantly reflected on what I am doing as a contributor to the poor performance of our students as compared to such countries as Poland and Finland. I used to make snide comments about Finland's literacy, saying that they learn to read by reading subtitles of American tv shows. Okay..maybe they do learn this way, but the country has also turned around attitudes towards education and educators in a profoundly innovative way.
Yes, my thinking about my teaching has moved to a different level. I am ready to create a year that will be transformative for my students. I am hyper-aware of the 5 C's - collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, and citizenship and I am going to consciously address each element every day. Students need constant help with collaboration. They have all been taught how to do it by now, yet they are still problems that have to be addressed. One of the big problems is the slacker. There is always a slacker. How do I deal with that person who will not participate? How do we deal with the person who insists on doing everything? How do we deal with the complainers? I guess by making the collaborative process more interesting? I will work on that.
Communication...if nothing else, I think I need to listen more and talk less. The key to effective learning is to know the audience. Sometimes,when I do listen, it seems that what is being said is so inane that I discount it, yet this is how these students think and their thoughts need acknowledgement. Plus...if their thinking seems skewed, maybe it is because things are not making sense to them and they are just expressing what they think they are learning.
Critical thinking...these students need to stop thinking about which answer is right: a, b, or c and start thinking deeper about the learning. But, these students need teachers who will guide them to that place where they know there is more than one answer to most questions. i feel that Project-based learning and Challenge-based learning is extremely stimulating to the critical thinking processes.
Creativity - Innovation: The more the better. With creativity comes stimulation to learn and that is why we need more opportunity for student-generated innovation in the classroom. Often, students resist the opportunity to create because they are so used to being told what to know. That is so five years ago!!!
Citizenship: yes, this is critically important for our students on so many levels. They need to understand their role in the scheme of their home, school, town, state, government, We know how important it is to be digital citizens and custodians of integrity in all aspects of their lives.
I have learned the importance of rigor. It is what is making the education systems Poland, Finland, and South Korea so progressive. Granted, South Korea is a bit overboard as is China. Those two countries are creating robots, in the name of national pride. No longer should we accept work that we feel is just okay. Our students need to know that failure is okay. The reason we have tolerated mediocrity is because we were always in a hurry to get the standards met for the test. It is time to "simmer down" and start demanding excellence in smaller increments of curricula..