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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Building a 21st Century Education System

Welcome to the NCTAF Learning Network! Today is the official launch of NCTAF’s new blog.

The NCTAF Learning Network is a new platform where education thought leaders can share ideas and stimulate new thinking about education, with a particular focus on new pathways to 21st century teaching. Entries posted to the blog will challenge you to re-examine the organization of schools and re-imagine the teaching profession. We hope that you will engage in a dialogue with us about promising practices, success stories and ways to overcome obstacles that hinder 21st century teaching and learning.

The success of education in the 21st century is dependent upon collaborative effort – a network of education stakeholders who stop tinkering with status-quo to make way for a new generation of schools. Creating learning environments that develop the competencies needed for true workforce readiness, lifelong learning, and 21st century citizenship is far beyond the capacity of a stand-alone teacher delivering text-based instruction in a self-contained classroom. Preparing today’s students to participate in a globally integrated community and a knowledge-based economy is a demanding challenge. No teacher should be expected to do this job alone. It is time to draw on the spirit and power of teamwork, and the new resources available in an open learning economy, to transform our schools into 21st Century learning organizations. We encourage your to make your voice heard!

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5 Comments:

Blogger Carri, Lou & Josie Schneider said...

Congratulations on the launch of your new blog! I enjoyed working on the book with you all & Bob so much. This forum is the next logical extension of that project. Good luck! Carri Schneider

July 21, 2008 5:09 PM  
Blogger Jim Goodell said...

"No teacher should be expected to do this job alone." This is especially true in today's knowledge-based economy, and with opportunities for collaboration afforded by technology. The teaching profession need not be restricted to the one-room-schoolhouse model of the independent practitioner.

July 22, 2008 11:27 AM  
Anonymous Terri Kirkman said...

Good luck on your new blog! I learned a lot when I was there working with the highly qualified staff at NCTAF in May. I look forward to seeing everyone in the future and in California for the upcoming symposium.

Sincerely,
Terri Kirkman

July 22, 2008 8:05 PM  
Anonymous Jerome Dancis said...

NCLB Unintended Consequence

Problem. Certified teachers with insufficient knowledge of course content, that is Math teachers who do not know the Math. This results in states setting low Math standards for students.

NCLB to the attempted rescue. Teachers must be "highly qualified".

Loophole. States get to set the standards as low as they please for "highly qualified".
Many states use the absurdly low-level Praxis II Middle School Math Content Exam as a criteria for their designating "highly qualified" Middle School Math Teachers. But, middle school Math teachers get to use calculators on this exam, so no need for "highly qualified" Middle School Math Teachers to be fluent or even knowledgeable in Arithmetic.

My impression is that many school systems Math coaches and Math supervisors as well as writers of state NCLB mandated exams are not really qualified in Math content; actually the minimum Math content requirement for such positions is the same as for all teachers.

July 23, 2008 12:02 PM  
Blogger Jim Lerman said...

Congratulations on the launch of this new blog. Here's hoping this becomes a lively forum for the interchange of meaningful ideas for school transformation.

July 23, 2008 11:43 PM  

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