On Pervasive Myopia
Ever the optimist, I always read reports on 21st-century whatever (e.g., skills, competencies, curriculum, etc.) with the hope that there may be some glimmer of recognition of the life-force of teaching and learning, as opposed to policy-wonk interpretations of what ‘education’ means now. So it was that I immersed myself in a seventy-page PDF from the Asia Society and Rand Corporation (aka a Global Cities Education Network report) entitled Measuring 21st-Century Competencies: Guidance for Educators (November 2013).
Creativity and System Leadership
As much as we hear experts and presenters talk about the need for creativity in education in an incessantly dynamic and interconnected world, we see rather dimly when it comes to how to catalyse it. We say, "Yes! We need more creativity in education!," yet, when it comes to action on this front, we're waiting to be told how to do it, as if there were some road map or how-to manual to which we all should have access.