The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

This week I explored The Partnership for 21st Century skills website.  This partnership is an organization advocating for the transformation of education into a 21st century learning environment.  I have seen some of the ideas from this framework in conferences that I have attended, however I had not had a chance to explore the website.  I find it interesting that there is a coalition out there which recognizes the disconnect that exists between student's education and the world they will graduate into, and especially that they are so interested in addressing this issue.  I did not know that there were so many states that have done something that the Partnership would consider "promising."  I like that the Partnership has recognized the difficulty in balancing instruction in the core subject areas, and meeting standards, with the need to also incorporate life and career skills, technological, and learning skills.  The implications of this on myself as an educator and my students as learners are hard to predict.  It almost feels like an uphill battle, one which can't be fought without many others joining in.  I don't know how much the Texas Education Agency recognizes that this disconnect exists and needs addressing.  As only one teacher, the only difference I can make is in my own classroom by doing as much as I can to help close this gap, and hope that the policymakers soon realize that they hold a lot of the power in their  own hands.