Today’sNlog on How Parents can help in adapting 21st century skills? By Guiding Guru… Mr Rachit Jain (PGT -Chemistry)

 

 

How Parents can help in adapting 21^st century skills?

By Rachit Jain (P.G.T Chemistry)

The 21st century is an era of new dimensions, new openings, endless opportunities, and insane innovations, which have brought a massive shift in the education system. To flourish in this world, survival tactics alone will not be enough, children need special skills, which must be taught and nurtured from a very early stage. The traditional way of education will equip kids to survive in the world, but the 21st century demands special skills which will equip them to master every aspect of life, from life skills to digital skills to face the challenges of uncertain probabilities the future holds.

Schools play a vital part in teaching kids these crucial 21st-century skills. Schools strive to impart these skills to children through relevant learning & teaching programs. It is also the role of parents to teach kids these essential skills in support of the school, as they are the primary teachers from whom children learn moral and ethical values from a very early stage. 

This guide is intended to bring more parents into the conversation about improving education. We as parents always want to provide the best of everything to our kids. All these efforts are nothing but a part of making our kids learn new things, form opinions and be an informed child.

Below are the 21st-century skills one by one in detail, parents can go through them and create an atmosphere where kids can learn these skills.

1. Let the child’s interests drive the interactions – Kids have a mind of their own. Their affinities or interests would vary depending on the environment, personality, and available resources. Gauging the area of interest and indulging in interactions around it would help the child learn 21st century skills. For e.g. a child may be interested in plants. Parents could encourage the child to do activities like leaf painting, watch a documentary or animation on plants, visit a garden or play a game of identifying different types of plants.

2. Participative Approach – One of the most important 21st century skills is communication and collaboration. It is imperative that we include kids in activities of various kinds and varied groups for their skill development. For example, involving kids in household chores helps them realize that all tasks are important. Interactions with their friends, family members, grandparents help them learn to communicate with different age groups.

  3.Learning by doing – As parents we often tend to go overboard in trying to give the best to kids. While the intention is understandable, it is detrimental to their development. Allow the kids to learn by doing things themselves, let them fail and learn. Practical approach to doing things would make them learn creativity, critical and logical thinking.

     

4. Allow them to create a schedule – We often feel that kids need to have a time bound schedule to pursue the different activities. It’s more so for adolescents and teens. Parents need to give the kids freedom to decide what they want to do and when. It is often the parental fear that kids would indulge only in recreational activities and essentials would be left behind. This may not be true. Allowing them to create their own schedule helps them learn time management skills . They understand the importance of decision making and its consequences.

 

Skills For Tomorrow 

TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE, careers, and citizenship, it's not enough to master academics. Students also need to acquire a set of skills that will last for a lifetime. To be able to solve problems in our complex, fast-changing world, students must become nimble, creative thinkers who can work well with others. (Not surprisingly, an IBM 2010 global study of chief executive officers revealed that -more than any other skill - creativity is most important for succeeding in today's increasingly complex society.) These competencies -known as 21st-century skills-are summed up as the "4Cs"by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. They include the following:

COLLABORATION: Students are able to work effectively with diverse groups and exercise flexibility in making compromises to achieve common goals. 

CREATIV1TY: Students are able to generate and improve on original ideas and also work creatively with others. 

COMMUNICATION: Students are able to communicate effectively across multiple media and for various purposes. 

CRITICAL THINKING: Students are able to analyse, evaluate, and understand complex systems and apply strategies to solve problems.

There are no set approaches to make today’s kids ready for tomorrow. Every parent takes an approach that he / she feels would yield maximum results. The paths chosen may be different, yet the goal remains the same – a happy and positive child who learns about oneself while exploring different things, understands the surroundings and the changing paradigms. A child who is ready to adapt to changes, seek answers, put on a creative hat, and look at things from a whole new perspective.

Despite all this, we must not forget that with the changing times our responsibility towards our kids is changing too. We must do our best to ensure that they learn these skills and be ready to face all that comes their way. Let us not be the parents who teach them to live the life as we perceive. Let us be the parent who teaches them to live a life that they believe in! In order for this to happen they need to equip themselves with the new age skill sets!