Abilities and Attributes of 21st Century Christian Schools

Today’s society moves at a seemingly faster pace every day. ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ is now ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’. “Snail mail” and Gmail are out, but Facebook and YouTube are ‘in’. And what about education? Cutting and pasting may not bring up the image of a student with scissors and glue in this digital age anymore. So what skills and abilities do students need to face the future?

In a recent video, (Soule, H. (2016, July 12). Introduction to 21st Century Learning with Helen Soule. [Video file]) Helen described a change in the learning framework that is necessary to meet the needs of students who are eager to have an active voice in the learning process. Today’s students are engaged in their own learning outcomes. The P21 framework reinforces this teacher/student relationship by providing creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration.  

I believe these 4Cs are a crucial component for our schools across the country and relate perfectly with the Christ-centered education model as well. However, these 4Cs are not enough to prepare students to survive and thrive in an increasingly computerized world. Students who leave high school with the basic intelligence equivalent to 7th or 8th grade literacy and mathematics, prepared only for routine work, will face competition from intelligent machines and automated systems.

In the article Educating for a Digital Future: Notes on Curriculum, Marc Tucker explains that half or more of our high schoolers are leaving school with only the level of skills required for work that is headed into mass extinction. Artificial intelligence is on the rise and has already automated many clerical, mining, manufacturing, and construction jobs. When a large portion of the jobs we were so accustomed to no longer exist, how do we prepare our students?

When the menial jobs are done by automation, there will still be work inventing and managing machines, as well as work that machines cannot do well. According to Tucker

“And finally, for such people, their contribution is defined by the distinctly human, the things that increasingly capable intelligent agents still cannot do: the sudden insight, the warm greeting, the act of kindness, the intuitive grasp of the other person’s outlook, the truly creative flourish, the courageous leap, the human bond, the sheer determination, the pride in a job really well done, the creation and development of a team that goes from success to success.

As educators, we are challenged to prepare students for work that has not even fully materialized yet. But we do not need to fear the future or the challenges for our students. There is a knowledge and wisdom that is always fresh and increases intelligence. It is found in the source of life and truth. Students who are engaged in their own learning and participate in the 4Cs must also be given an understanding of ‘How’ and ‘Why’ things work. Beyond basic literacy and math function, students need a curriculum that allows them to learn the big ideas and concepts behind the core subjects being taught. Is there a better source for these concepts than the Maker and Designer of the world?