The video of Common Core’s much-discussed recent panel discussion on 21st Century Skills is up on the organization’s website. Ken Kay of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills has also released a video, apparently recorded in P21′s Tora Bora redoubt, in which he again dimisses his critics and continues (maddeningly) to insist that choosing between content and skills is a “false choice.”
Mr. Kay, read very carefully: No one is arguing with you. Yes, children need skills and solid academic content. Roger that. Message received. The problem, Mr. Kay, is that your plan shows a curious lack of academic content. Saying content is important is not enough. You actually have to deliver it. Where…is….the….content?
Are we clearer now?
Kay keeps talking about “world class skills and world class content” with the PR man’s faith that if you keep repeating the same thing over and over again, debate will stop. P21′s skills and literacy maps are right there on the web for everyone to read. Go look. Lots of stuff about students recording podcasts, writing commercial jingles, creating “word clouds,” using “online visual ranking thinking tools” and “collaborative research annotation tools” and other way cool tech toys. It’s easy to see the value P21 places on 21st century skills. I’ve exhausted myself looking for a description of all the ”world class content” Mr. Kay is purportedly championing.
Is it just lip service? Where’s the world class content? Mr. Kay, please don’t change the subject. No more false dichotomy obfuscations. Just answer the question: Where’s the “world class content” in P21′s “skills framework?”
