Journal Writing #3

Prompt
To what degree do you think you really understand the needs of your students and what they need for the 21st century? How wide is the "gap" between them and you? In what areas are the gaps? What can you do to make connections?

Response
When thinking of instructing students of the 21st century I feel I have an understanding of what they need to a degree. I know that all students must gain and develop skills such as high level analytical thinking, problem-solving, etc. However I do not have an understanding of what jobs I am going to prepare them for. In a broader sense I haven’t a clue on what kind of world I am preparing them for. In the TED video entitled Do Schools Kill Creativity Sir Ken Robinson stated nobody knows what the world will look like in twenty, ten or even five years. Despite this, I as an educator must make my students ready for the jobs that will exist in the unseen future. While I cannot give them the skills they will need for jobs that are most likely not in existence I know I can give them skills that will always be useful. To this degree I understand the needs of my 21st century students.
 
When thinking of the gap that separates me from my students I realize it cannot be very large. As a twenty-two year old I am no more than eight years older than my students. In discussions with my students I use the same technology, listen to similar music, watch the same movies and go to many of the same places as they do. Therefore the only reason there is a visible gap between us is what we know, how we speak and how we understand the world. In all likelihood all three of those differences will disappear as my students gain an education. In making connections I can use the similarities we already share such as pop culture. By making connections on topics we both love I will further stricken the ever-narrowing gap.