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Education in the 21st century is very different from education in the 20th century. Students
are required to have various skill sets in order for them to be successful in the classroom and
outside of the classroom. When designing a curriculum with the end in mind, it is essential to
examine what skills are need in order for students to be successful in the workforce. I believe the
purpose of education in the 21st century is to teach students life skills that will prepare them for
the workforce. In this paper, I will focus in on the two skills that I believe are the most important
The first critical skill to teach to students is how to communicate effectively with others. I
consider this one of the most important life skills because how individuals communicate with
others is one of the main skills employers look for when hiring new employees. According to
Wallis and Stepstoe, Developing good people skills. EQ, or emotional intelligence, is as
important as IQ for success in today's workplace. "Most innovations today involve large teams of
people," says former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine. "We have to emphasize
communication skills, the ability to work in teams and with people from different cultures (3).
With todays rapidly changing technology, there is less of an emphasis on communicating face to
face. Teachers should be teaching this crucial skill in the classroom or incorporating it to some
degree within the different content areas. Through doing this, teachers will ensure the success of
their students within the workforce because every job requires some type of communication with
others. Having multiple opportunities for students to communicate with one another will allow
students to become more proficient at this skill. Therefore, making them comfortable with
communicating with other people and preparing them to do so in their future jobs.
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The next skill I consider to be significant to teach students within the classroom is
personal responsibility. Students need to learn this skill because when they are adults they will be
held accountable for the actions they take and the decisions that they make. It has also been
known that many adolescents have a reputation as being inherently lazy and not wanting to take
responsibility for their actions. As a future educator, I personally do not believe this to be true.
What I consider to be true is that students can be taught how to be responsible with the proper
assistance. Wormeli states, Students are often just surviving the day, and they don't see the
value or take the time to look at the big-picture consequences of their words and actions, so we
help them. For many students, it's a trusted adult who can help them make connections between
their actions and their goals. Helping students learn how to become responsible is very
important because it is a significant skill to have within the workplace. If an individual does not
take responsibility for your actions at work, this could ultimately get him or her fired. It is
essential to emphasize this skill in the classroom now, so students can learn and practice
responsibility. Students can then accomplish the end in mind goal which is to become
When teaching these two skills of communication and personal responsibility. It is best
not to teach it explicitly, rather integrating it within the content being taught. The article Results
That Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform maintains, Good teachers have always
incorporated life skills into their pedagogy. The challenge today is to incorporate these essential
skills into schools deliberately, strategically, and broadly (11). The beauty about including these
skills into the curriculum, students do not even realize they are practicing these skills. When I am
a teacher I will be sure to incorporate life skills into my curriculum and develop a plan for it.
Students will be required to communicate with one another when working together on
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assignments, projects and homework within my classroom. They will also be held responsible
for meeting their deadlines, doing their work in group projects, and showing up to class on time.
Students will also be given multiple opportunities to practice these skills so they can obtain these
Todays society is ever changing and students are required to have a different type of
skill set than they did in the 20th century. In the 21st century, more employers seek out the life
skills that individuals possess such as being able to communicate effectively with others and
taking personal responsibility for their actions. As a result, I believe the purpose of education in
the 21st century is to teach the two most important life skills of communication and personal
responsibility in order to achieve the end in mind goal: students being successful in the
How does middle school fit into the overall end in mind?
Middle school fits perfectly into the overall end in mind. Middle school is that awkward
stage for adolescents where they are trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be in
society. This is the perfect time to provide students with the tools they will need to be successful
in life and in the workforce. It is also the perfect time to be teaching life skills such as
communication and personal responsibility. Middle school focuses on providing students with
the necessary skills they will need to have in an actual job. It is a time to shape students into the
person they are going to become later in life. Therefore, middle school is a big support system
In my field experience at Winona Middle School, I have had the opportunity to work with
my cooperating teacher, Stacy Gobler, who teaches 7th grade special education. I had the chance
to interview her and I got to ask her how the middle school supports the overall end in mind. In
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my personal opinion, I believe communication is a key life skill students need to have, so I asked
her, How does the middle school teach communication skills? Mrs. Gobler described to me,
Depending upon what the activity is, students work in groups to work on their communication
skills. This can vary from a classroom discussion, to reading books in smalls groups, to reading
books together. What we emphasize at the middle school is that all voices are heard (10
February 2017). At the middle school, there is a huge focus on working together to complete
activities. Students will work together on homework assignments or engage with one another in a
discussion. In the classroom, the teacher is a facilitator in the classroom to ensure discussions
stay appropriate and to make sure students are communicating effectively. This provides them
with practice to use their communication skills that they are going to need in life and in the
workforce.
I also wanted to know if the middle school evaluates this critical skill, so the next
question I asked Stacey was, Does the middle school assess communication skills? She stated,
There are rubrics for how well the students worked together on a project. They get to grade
themselves and divide the points based on who did what work (10 February 2017). Stacey also
described to me how one day a student could not be in class because she had a prior commitment
to a choir practice that day. Her students still decided to give the girl points because she
communicated with them that she could not be there that day to work on the project (10 February
2017). Through using these rubrics, it gives students the opportunity to think critically about
themselves and what their role was in working together. In the example Stacy provided me with,
it shows just how well teaching communication skills is working within Winona Middle School.
This is going to help out these students later in life if they are ever put in a similar situation at
The next skill I wanted to know more about how Winona Middle School incorporates it
into their curriculum is responsibility. I asked Mrs. Gobler, How do you teach students how to
be responsible in the classroom? Stacey responded by saying, This looks very different for
each student. It depends upon what type of skill set they have and if their home life teaches them
how to be responsible. If there home life does not teach this, we have to provide additional
support to that particular student. What we do teach all students here is how to manage your time
wisely, work ethic, and perseverance (10 February 2017). In the Winona Middle School, they
provide multiple opportunities for students to learn how to be responsible. When I was observing
in the special education classroom, I wrote in my notes, The teachers emphasize personal
responsibility with their students. They explicitly state that it is the students responsibility to do
their work and to turn in their assignments. If they do not get something done or do not have
notes written down that falls on them. They are also very encouraging and supportive of teaching
students how to be responsible (10 February 2017). Seeing this in the classroom showed me just
how much the teachers support their students taking on their own responsibilities. Winona
Middle School provides students with the necessary skills in order to be successful in the
Middle school is the perfect age to shape adolescents into the person that they are going
to become in society and in the workforce. In addition, it is also a great place to teach students
life skills such as how to communicate effectively with one another and how to be held
personally responsible for their actions. Middle school supports the overall end in mind by
teaching students these life skills in order for them to be successful in life after they finish
school.
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Works Cited
Results That Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform. Partnership for 21st Century
Wallis, Claudia, and Sonja Stepstoe. How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century. Time.