21st Century Learning and Teaching

"As we seek to refine and reform today’s system of education, we would do well to ask, 'What is education?' Our answers may provide insights that get to the heart of what matters for 21st century children and adults alike. It is important to step back from divisive debates on grades, standardized testing, and teacher evaluation—and really look at the meaning of education. So I decided to do just that—to research the answer to this straightforward, yet complex question. Looking for wisdom from some of the greatest philosophers, poets, educators, historians, theologians, politicians, and world leaders, I found answers that should not only exist in our history books, but also remain at the core of current education dialogue. In my work as a developmental psychologist, I constantly struggle to balance the goals of formal education with the goals of raising healthy, happy children who grow to become contributing members of families and society. Along with academic skills, the educational journey from kindergarten through college is a time when young people develop many interconnected abilities." | by Marilyn Price-Mitchell

- The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done. -- Jean Piaget, 1896-1980, Swiss developmental psychologist, philosopher

- Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, physicist