Along with traditional core subjects such as math and science, new skills are emerging to form important 21st-century skills necessary to succeed in the modern-day marketplace. These skills include innovation & learning skills, global awareness, and entrepreneurial literacy.
Emotional intelligence is identified as one of the most important skills to facilitate innovation and creative problem solving (Pathak & Muralidharan, 2020). Other soft skills essential for 21st-century success include critical thinking communication, collaboration, and creativity (Farrell et al., 2019).
Many researchers believe that creative problem solving is one of the most important skills necessary to succeed in the western world of the 21st century (Ivcevic et al., 2020; Majeed et al., 2019; Montgomery, 2017). It is important to begin teaching creativity, i.e. encourage children to express and use their natural ability to create, as early as in preschool for children to be able to get in touch with their creative power and learn how to apply it to academics and their future professional lives (Ness, 2015; Tuscan & Hurjui, 2015).
Numerous countries outside the United States are quickly realizing that developing creative potential in children as young as preschoolers will ultimately help advance the development of technology and science in their countries (Tuscan & Hurjui, 2015; Ness, 2015). Developing an ability to be creative and think innovatively in preschoolers is also also likely to facilitate scientific and technological progress in the United States (Ness, 2015).
In order to succeed in post-secondary programs and the workplace, our children need to start learning 21st-century skills as early as in preschool. Not only will it help them develop college-readiness and job-readiness skills, but also help improve academic performance. Students who are taught to practice collaborative learning, active listening, brainstorming, visualization, and design thinking are generally more motivated to learn and continue working on difficult tasks longer than children who are not taught these skills (Sternberg, 2015).
Are teachers at your school equipped with tools to teach their students the skills necessary to not only finish high school and enter college but also compete in the modern-day marketplace?
You deserve to know what's going on in your school! And your children deserve the right to a 21st-century education. If you are a parent here are some of the questions you can ask your teacher:
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How are the children being prepared for the 21st-century marketplace?
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Do you have enough resources to fully support your students?
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Are you looking for a new curriculum to help keep your students engaged?
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What can I do to support my children's development?
If you are a teacher, you should consider these questions and how you can bring 21se-century learning to your classroom.
IDEAS Empowered by Youth® is a revolutionary 21st-century program that is designed to equip teachers with all the skills necessary to help their students develop 21st-century skills such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration (the 4 C's).
All IDEAS Modules help develop:
COMMUNICATION: emotional intelligence (self-awareness & social awareness), active listening, using effective language to express thoughts and feelings.
CRITICAL THINKING: problem solving, finding local solutions to global problems, brainstorming, visualization, and design thinking.
CREATIVITY: Thinking outside the box, developing interests and talents, encouraging children and youth to express their natural ability to create and help them authentically.
COLLABORATION: solving problems collaboratively in a group, providing and receiving support to/from peers and educators.
IDEAS Empowered by Youth® modules are specifically designed to help young people develop all of these skills while discovering their passions and learning to make a difference and live from the heart. Current IDEAS modules include Health & Wellness, Soical Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Climate Change
