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Skills for the Future (Cont.)
Watching this video
made me think of a young girl who lived on our street in Missouri. She was
friends with our middle son and was often over to our house to play. My son had
a great time with her, she was imaginative, curious, and had lots of fun. She
had many questions and we always enjoyed her “energy”. She started kindergarten
at the same time as our son. Shortly after starting school she was “tested” and
placed on medication. We immediately noticed a difference in her actions and
questions – she was like a little robot. My son asked us what happened to her
because she was not the same person he knew as his friend. While I am sure she
became a “more ideal student,” her being or essence – what made her unique –
was gone. If the job market needs people
that have the very skills that Dr. Wagner was addressing, then we cannot
medicate students or squash their individuality. We need to accept that not all
students are ideal. Some examples of
students who were not ideal but went on to be innovative are: Albert Einstein,
Mark Twain, Walt Disney, and Bill Gates.
Dr. Wagner stated that
teachers sometimes have to work alone to insure that students are developing
the skills needed – they have to be willing to go against the flow. He called this “random acts of excellence”. My take away for this is to see all students
as individuals to promote their individualities – to recognize and celebrate
the student’s strengths and help identify one’s weaknesses – to seek
improvement. Moreover, the teacher needs
to provide them with strategies that will help them improve in the areas that
are weak. Also teachers need to provide
students with opportunities to practice these survival skills because it will
be through practice that they will be able to develop the skills needed for
later in life.
Link to Dr. Wagner’s video – The Seven
Skills Students Need for their Future:
Home Education
During this unit, my children had an opportunity to
participate in the geography fair sponsored by a home educator group in our
area. Not only did they get to learn about the country they studied, but learned
about other countries represented by the children at the fair. My son’s country
was Norway and while he researched the items required, his favorite part was
the scenery of Norway.
My daughter’s project was on Egypt. She chose this
country because we have been studying Egypt this school year. She wanted to
dress up as a girl from Egypt today. She also made a cat mummy from Paper Mache
as well as pyramid sculptures and wanted to use them in her display for Egypt. 
This
past week she created an Egyptian paddle doll made from wood which are believed
to have been played with by ancient Egyptian children. 
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