The Student of the 21st Century

Sitting in a desk made for someone twice as small as he, Phillip uncomfortably leans to his left and taps his friend, Max, on the shoulder. The two make eye contact, and Phillip passes a piece of notebook paper to Max. He laughs and shows Phoebe, who sits behind him, the content of the paper. Phoebe's face turns bright red as she tries to quiet her own laughter. On the paper is a drawing of their math teacher, Mrs. White, with an enlarged nose and mustache. Because there are forty plus students in this class, Mrs. White continues to lecture without noticing the students exploding into giggles in the back of the room. Her dull voice along with the sound of chalk scratching on the chalkboard drowns out the whispers and laughter. No one is learning. In fact, everyone has their brains turned off, including Mrs White.

There are several reasons why learning is not happening in this math class. Years ago, in the very same situation, learning may have occurred. The times have changed, however. Students cannot function in a large lecture-like atmosphere. They need to be engaged in what they are learning. Creative juices need to flow!

First off, if Mrs. White must have a class with forty students, her approach has to dramatically change. Perhaps she could allow the class to split up into smaller groups. This could allow for healthy conversation and for ideas to be shared among classmates. Instead of lecturing, Mrs. White could assign problems that the groups could discuss and solve as a unit. This would engage the students while forcing them to think critically. Mrs. White could reward the group with the quickest response as well as the group with the most creative approach. She could address each unique way of solving the problem and have each group explain to the class how they approached the problem. 

Creativity is a skill that the average student of the 21st student needs! Similarly to how education is changing, the business world is changing, as well. Employers are looking for applicants who can think critically and do the necessary work. Inventiveness needs to be addressed in schools so that students will be prepared for the changing real world.