Flight to Excellence: Guaranteeing Success for All Students in the 21st Century

By Edward Newsome Jr

The 21st century is filled with opportunities and possibilities for today's students. Students must be engaged, encouraged, and guided towards excellence. The Flight to Excellence details what is necessary in order to chart a course to success.
Every student who embarks upon this journey is capable of arriving at his or her chosen destination, bu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flight to Excellence Educational Consultants,LLC
• Release date: May 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9780692467725

Book preview

The best way to ensure that people engage in out-of-the-box thinking is to eliminate the box.

INTRODUCTION

Navigating a New Paradigm

Students arrive at schools from homes that are characterized by a variety of demographic interactions. They are often influenced by interactive and highly socialized environments, rich communication experiences, and technology-influenced behaviors. They come to school and are merged into environments that don’t mirror their initial developmental environments. Educators then want to open up children’s minds and pour in information. They purpose that this process will impart some lasting amount of knowledge into these awaiting vessels.

This delivery process fails to work because it does not match the environment from which the children come. We must consider whether this process for imparting information can successfully prepare today’s children for the 21st century. We must also ask ourselves whether curriculums are designed to facilitate a change in teacher behaviors. I am not certain that the business community believes that our high school and college graduates are adequately prepared with the skills necessary for the present workplace. Current school curriculums may not be designed to equip students with the skills they will need in order to navigate the workplace in the future.

The transportation vehicle that brought mankind into the 19th century was a horse and buggy. We were transported into the 20th century by airplanes and the like. The transportation vehicle for travel in the 21st century is the computer or technology. I use transportation as the reference because it is transportation that connects us to education, business, commerce, and communication in communities. These connections were governed by time, distance, and the environment. It is easy to look back in time and see how the world has changed in just a few hundred years. Yet, when we begin to look towards the future, it is difficult to imagine how the world will evolve in this new century.

In the past, mankind rode on or in vehicles. The new vehicle, technology, will connect us to the world and our livelihoods in a vastly improved and different way. We will live our lives and transact business in an emerging generation and time. The challenges that have limited progress in the past will be eliminated by new innovations. Time, space, distance, and the environment will no longer be a barrier to what mankind is able to accomplish.

I understand that it will be a challenge to some to understand and conceptualize the transition from the concrete to abstract relationships of transportation. However, it is critical that our thinking transitions relative from the past to the future. This concept will prepare us to engage the new and different way of thinking. Old thinking has no place in the future and should merely be used as building blocks. We must shift our emphasis to a new way of thinking that will require a new world of engagement. As a result, we will begin to understand that school leaders, teachers, and curriculum writers must change their practice. A change in current thinking, practice, and delivery is essential to navigating a new paradigm! The command of our thoughts about the future can never extend beyond the reach and scope of our current dreams. Our dreams and imaginations will frame the picture of the future and of what is possible. At some point, we must believe that what we have and depend on today must be upgraded if we are to hope for a better world and a brighter tomorrow.

As I prepared to write this book, I considered some of the inventions, products, and quality life enhancements that have been evidenced in my lifetime. I remember being so excited when my parents let me make my first telephone call. As I think back now about the evolution of the rotary telephone to present day iPhone and Bluetooth phone technology, I am truly amazed. The reality is that even my first telephone experience was a much-improved technology over the very first telephone. It is impossible for us to know how modern-day communication devises will be transformed to meet the needs and demands of the future. Wrist phones are just one of the emerging devises that will influence how people communicate.

I also remember when my father attached a plastic cover to the family’s black and white television set. This plastic, transparent cover was blue at the top portion, amber in the center, and green at the bottom. He was so proud to offer an alternative to black and white television to the family. Believe it or not, this was my first encounter with color television. Today’s televisions include plasma, smart, and 3D technology. I expect that the future of many current technologies will be considerably more advanced than what is available today. The point of this refection is that dreams and imagination produce creations, inventions, and innovations. Invention exposes the need for production. Innovative thinking reveals the need for creators to develop products for quality of life enhancements. The need for skills development and innovative leaps will result in the need for education and training that inspire evolutionary thinking.

A critical issue emerges when one considers how dreams and imagination open the door to invention. It is at the dream and imagination stage of creativity that a process begins—exploration and discovery take on a central role. Several important decisions must be made at this stage. During this stage, a commitment must be made on whether to pursue the realization of the dream. One’s commitment will determine to what degree these dreams are realized. To be sure, many dreams and ideas never come to fruition. Consequently, it is likely that there are hundreds of graveyards populated with the remains of people who, for whatever reason, failed to pursue their dreams.

One would expect that the purpose of these ideas and inventions are to improve the quality of our lives. The need for something better is the father of invention. It is how we market our dreams to produce change that must be a priority. Dreams and ideas have market value. The marketing of dreams and ideas will impact the quality of our lives. This will, in turn, drive the needs of a workforce. A class of workers will evolve, including those who build structures and processes: manufacturing, mass production, marketing, and a host of other services. For example, the skills required to create a rotary telephone are quantifiably different from the skills needed to produce an iPhone. The product components, servicing, distribution, and marketing of the product are different. What degree of change was needed in skill development between the rotary phone and the iPhone? What was the degree of training that was needed to meet business and industry demands for any other quality of life enhancement? The answer to these questions should help us understand the impact education, training, and industry knowledge has on the world today. New thinking must align with new needs for new products.

An unskilled, uninformed, and unavailable workforce is the enemy of a sustainable and productive society. This is evident when we consider the haves and those who have not in the world. One would have to look no further than the quality and strength of the educational systems in countries that have vibrant economies. The advancements of individual societies coincide with their advancements in education. In essence, the quality of life and society is equal to the quality of education in that nation. With this in mind, we must be aware of the dire consequences that will result from a failure to transform the educational systems in America.

One cannot expect to receive the desired result without a change in how we educate our students. Curriculums must be designed and constructed to stimulate and create new ideas, dreams, imaginings, and innovations that will inspire a different quality of life. Government, business, and education agencies must engage in collaborative discussions that support structures and funding for transformational schools. Colleges and universities must examine how they prepare teachers and leaders to meet the learning demands of students and 21st century learners.

The 21st century will be an era that is characterized by a phenomenal exchange of ideas and information. This capacity to exchange and transport information will have a direct impact on productivity in the global marketplace. The rapid expansion of technology and technological services will be required to facilitate the transformation of business and industry. The need to access and use a high volume of information will require constant and consistent upgrades in equipment, processes, and delivery systems. These upgrades will be made yearly and on a continuing basis.

With this in mind, schools and educational institutions must keep pace with the speed of information delivery. The design, redesign, and continuous improvements of curriculum must keep pace with the ever-evolving demands of society. Curriculum content and rigorous instruction must mirror the expectations evidenced in the workplace. Unfortunately, curriculum is neither evaluated nor adjusted on the same yearly basis as technology. Too often it is the business community, government, and accountability focus on education that mandates a critical look at curriculum. Our current attention on education is more directly related to global competition than on the need to ensure the development and success of students. This type of attention and focus on curriculum results in substandard student performance. Poor student performance may lead to the demise of communities, cities, and possibly the country.

Curriculum design must be connected to competencies and skills that will be required to prepare students for the future. It is useless to deliver curriculum that equips students with skills that were needed for a past or even the present society. It is imperative that students acquire the skills, behaviors, and habits that will prepare them to be productive in the 21st century. Students will need to be able to navigate a new era with new thinking and ideas. Old information produces underperformance and outdated behaviors. An understanding of the future produces new ideas, dreams, and innovations. The current curriculum in most school districts is akin to old wineskins. Old wineskins cannot hold new wine. Old curriculum cannot hold new knowledge.

Out-of-the-box opportunities require out-of-the-box thinking. Out-of-the-box thinking will be the operational system needed for Navigating a New Paradigm. Thomas Friedman, in The World is Flat, discussed import attributes that today’s students will need in order to successfully engage the 21st century. He offered that today’s students must acquire critical thinking skills and a love for learning. The organization Partnership for 21st Century Skills has identified the following essential 21st Century Skills:

Accountability and Adaptability - Exercising personal responsibility and flexibility in personal, workplace, and community contexts; setting and meeting high standards and goals for one’s self and others; tolerating ambiguity

Communication Skills - Understanding, managing, and creating effective oral, written, and multimedia communication in a variety of forms and contexts

Creativity and Intellectual Curiosity - Developing, implementing, and communicating new ideas to others; staying open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives

Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking - Exercising sound reasoning in understanding and making complex choices. Understanding the interconnections among systems

Information and Media Literacy Skills - Demonstrating teamwork and leadership; adapting to varied roles and responsibilities; working productively with others; exercising empathy; respecting diverse perspectives

Problem Identification, Formulation, and Solution - Ability to frame, analyze, and solve problems

Self-Direction - Monitoring one’s own understanding and learning needs; locating appropriate resources; transferring learning from one domain to another

Social Responsibility - Acting responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind; demonstrating ethical behavior in personal, workplace, and community contexts

When we consider the skills that are needed to enjoy successful lives in a new and emerging world, it is not difficult to understand the nature of the challenge. Legislators, business leaders, parents, educators, and students must work in concert to meet this challenge. We must all get out of the box and then destroy it. The box is outdated thinking. We must arrive at the realization that old thinking, like old habits, is the enemy of change. The box is the container of the old paradigm. It is time to Navigate a New Paradigm.

....they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31

CHAPTER ONE

FLIGHT TO EXCELLENCE

The premise of this author is that all students can achieve success. Readers are to note that All is defined as All Lifelong Learners. Students must arrive at a place where they will experience success in their life’s endeavors. Therefore, the Flight to Excellence in the 21st century is a journey whose destination is success. In the current educational economy, we are faced with a perplexing dilemma. Students in America are not learning at a level that is expected of them. These expectations are based upon the desires, hopes, and dreams of parents, educators, the business community, politicians, career professionals, and even students themselves. Students are constantly being assessed on their achievement; yet, they are often unable to perform at a level that makes the stakeholders confident in their skills and abilities.

The community itself, which is making these assessments regarding the poor performance of our children, may be contributing to the dilemma. Their notion of success may be holding us back from arriving at solutions to the dismal performances demonstrated by our students.

When the academic performance of American students is compared to that of students in countries with comparable economic systems throughout the world, they continue to lag behind. The wide gap in performance that has been evidenced by minority and other cultural or ethnic groups further complicates the issues associated with academic success. This performance gap could be attributed to the fact that educational practitioners rarely wield the power necessary to make the important legislative decisions that determine achievement outcomes. Educators may very well be the only professional community that does not have the power to develop, promote, or execute an agenda aimed at implementing radical change in the area of education reform.

In a country that prides itself on world economic superiority, the plight of America’s future hangs in the balance. The poor academic performance of our students poses an imminent threat to the viability of the future in terms of economic superiority. A companion consequence of failed achievement by the masses of students is the weakening of the skill base that is needed to maintain a strong country and vibrant military force. The failure of America to prepare its students for the future is an indication that it cannot maintain its status as a