14. "21st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How We Get Them"

Ken Kay is the president of 21^st Century Skills and the author of “21^st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How We Get There.” His book discusses the vision for the 21^st century learning view of how we can conceptualize public education, and bring together all the elements the 21^st century students’ need. Kay’s main focus for the 21^st century students is to revert from the average subjects that are taught to teaching things like creative thinking and problem solving instead. He believes that this is the type of information that will make a student successful after graduating high school.  

I can agree with Ken Kay’s ideas because some of the most important things we need to know are not taught in the everyday classroom. Yes, it is important to be able to read and write and have proper grammar as well as being able to add and subtract, but things like being professional and how to obtain a successful job are not taught by our average teachers. I believe that it is important for individuals to be able to properly address an email and different types of documents in order to be successful. But often times we are left to figure it out on our own, sometimes even by trial and error which could easily be avoided if we were just taught the correct things in school. Student main focus is on receiving good grades in order to pass a grade level. But what good does that do us after we graduate when we are left with decisions such as obtain proper insurance, down payments of cars and houses, and planning for your future such as retirement. Not everyone has a correct answer to every question or the best advice but I believe that if things along this line were taught in school as well as the necessary subjects students would be more prepared for the developing future.