With a rapidly changing global economy, preparing our next generation of problem-solvers for the 21st century means that we start early in equipping them with experiences in creativity and resilience.
How knowledge and skills are valued has changed with the new era of technology.
Educators often complain about the lack of improved 21st-century skills in our children. But what, exactly, are 21st-century skills?
21st-century skills are a mix of new and old, encompassing traditional academics (literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies), life skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, and career skills such as innovation, technology, and global awareness.
It is important to provide a good foundation at an early age.
The early childhood education system operates on three main vectors: learning skills, literacy skills, and life skills – all of which can be refined to prepare children for the changing demands of the world.
While schools are making the shift toward 21st century standards, there’s a lot that parents can do to foster these skills at home.
One can try these ideas as starters for supporting a child’s success.
For example, to encourage sharing and social skills, parents can offer them a collective set of play materials rather than individual sets when children play together.
Children can be exposed to ways of thinking that come from different cultures by introducing phrases from different languages around the world, such as the words for “please” and “thank you”.
They can be encouraged to think out-of-the-box by asking them to come up with new rules for a familiar game.
This helps kids learn how to evaluate their ideas and solve a problem in a group.
Children can also be asked to solve common household problems by engineering new solutions.
For example: how can they fit all the suitcases in the car without blocking the driver’s view?
They can be asked to participate in family decisions and problem-solving, and then their efforts to reason through different situations should be praised.
Twenty-first-century skills are a burning topic in education today; some even call them the new building blocks for learning.
Our children will need to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive global landscape, and at the same time be able to collaborate with others from all over the world.
Many research institutions have refined the skillset to focus on the four C’s: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills.
JBM Global School considered one of the best schools near sector 137 Noida encourages children to develop their critical thinking.
Students are appreciated to start with simple questions about why the world around us works as it does.
Children are gifted with a wilder imagination than they know what to do with, and it is the responsibility of the education system to equip them with the tools to train that skill and make it stronger.
Teachers in JBM Global school keep this in mind while imparting education to them.
Collaboration and cooperative learning teach children how teamwork towards a common goal will often produce greater results.
This is very well taken care of through various Interhouse and interclass group activities and competitions conducted in the school.
Communication starts and ends with listening and empathy and is therefore taught in the school to expand their mindset.