21st century skills

"To know nothing is bad, to learn nothing is worse." This is an old African proverb, more specifically from the Serer tribe. Now this tribe, located in Gambia, may be as far from any on-line society as it goes, but they have gone through many changes over the centuries, learning and adapting as they went along. Our society has also changed tremendously; we've moved from a world in which people generally knew things, to a world in which people depend on looking things up and learning as they go. Lifelong learning has become the way to move forward. New media have incredibly transformed our world within the last 20 years, touching nearly every aspect of life, except for - in some cases - education. Educational reform often has to do with the traditional subjects: reading, writing and arithmetic – the so-called three R’s from old. But it’s not the bad reading or math grades in Pisa we should worry about. Schools have to teach 21 century skills, including critical thinking, communication, teamwork, creativity and technical skills. A lot of companies jump on these 21st century skills like the latest fad to be marketed. But come on, guys... if you claim to teach what 21st century skills are, you have to at least demonstrate them. I didn't even make it past the first minute of these guys' presentation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5OU8XoA3_0) which shows nothing but a boring picture for 51 whole seconds, voiced by the most boring human being in the universe. Very 19th century indeed.