Training Teachers for the 21st Century

This year, from January to November 2009, I was involved in a special training at my school. The purpose of the training was to better prepare today's students to function in the 21st century. We learned to apply strategies and techniques that adults in the work force need to have to be successful. Such traits are working with others as a team, problem solving, using technology effectively, having better communication skills and being able to think out of the box. THis made me very hopeful that American Education is on the rise. It is frightening to know that schools in India and other foreign countries are producing better students. We need to step up our education to produce better thinkers and problem solvers. We learned that the jobs our students will have and the technology they will be using aren't even invented yet. How frightening is that????????? But it is great to know that there are things we can do in the classroom to raise the bar for our students. That gives me hope for the future of education.
This post is part of the MAT@USC Hope for the holidays event. Did you have an experience or witness something in 2009 which gave you hope for the future of American education? If so, please see this post for more information on how to share it.