 For many decades education has been in a state of turmoil as we continue to seek ways to adapt education to life in the 21st century. A Hall of Mirrors is defined as "A carnival or amusement park attraction consisting of a maze or series of passageways lined with mirrors, especially curved mirrors giving distorted reflections. "A confusing or disorienting situation in which it is difficult to distinguish between truth and illusion or between competing versions of reality. Also called, in both senses, a House of Mirrors. Looking back over the past thirty to forty years alone, there has been much contention regarding the proper path forward, and a variety of programs and plans have been put forth to improve schools. Most of these have focused on one purpose: improving students' standardized test scores. And most have experienced dismal results. With the proliferation of the Internet, there was a virtual explosion of new programs, and suddenly it seemed that everyone was an expert or a consultant. Thus my analogy of the "house of mirrors". It must feel that way to so many educators who are being continually bombarded with new "tips, tricks and various programs" for improving student learning, i.e., test scores. These range from ludicrous to highly effective ways to improve student learning. Along with the Internet has been the surge of excitement surrounding efforts to get technologies into the hands of students. Unfortunately, technologies have not been implemented in a meaningful way in many classrooms. And, as I have written before, we simply replaced the paper/pencil worksheets and the printed textbooks with digital versions of the same. The pedagogy, practices and paradigms did not change at all. There are a few educators who are recognizing and calling for the need to make "real change". They also recognize that this real change is not going to be easy or simple. We cannot create real change by implementing a few "tricks and tips", we cannot do it by adding some 15-minute activity to the already enormous load of activities, standards, test prep which is overwhelming teachers and students every day. We cannot create the schools we need unless and until we make a true Paradigm Shift. For this reason, we at 21st Century Schools have created Paradigm Shift, which includes three distinct programs! For more information about 21st Century Schools and to receive details on the Paradigm Shift programs, please contact Anne Shaw, Director, 21st Century Schools! Director@21stCenturySchools.com
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 Schools and school districts around the world, as well as the educators within them, are each individually on a journey along a continuum from factory model to 21st century model education. One overarching obstacle is the assumption that we can "fix" students, learning and test scores from within the current structures. We cannot change and "stay the same" , i.e., maintain the same paradigms, practices and structures that have been in place for well over 100 years. The current education model is obsolete, a relic of a bygone era.
Although there are a multitude of obstacles in our path, there are things that that can be done to overcome these obstacles and make time for what matters most. Continue Reading Here  Celebrating Chocolate Day at your school is an excellent opportunity for integrating many content standards, from language arts to math to science and to many important social issues.
The study of the chocolate industry, past and present, has connections to economics, environmental studies, history, geography, cultural studies, anthropology and more. Multiple literacies taught/developed through a Chocolate Project include the arts and creativity, ecoliteracy, financial literacy, media literacy, information literacy, social/emotional literacies, global competencies and physical fitness and health. Visit our Chocolate page on the 21st Century Schools' Curriculum Resources site. There you will find suggestions for curricular connections that not only meet the content standards but are meaningful and motivational for your students.  Celebrate Taco Day with one or more of the projects listed on our Taco Day page in Curriculum Resources from 21st Century Schools! There is literally no discipline that cannot be integrated.
This page has ideas for relevant, real world curriculum from preschool to the university level! It also includes resources such as books, cookbooks, research articles, videos and children's literature. Most, if not all, of the Common Core State Standards can be taught through these projects - and you do not have limit your project to one day! Get the parents and community involved. Invite some mariachi players, too, or just get some mariachi music. Learn some dances, paint, make a video - but definitely cook and eat!  We need filmmaking in our classrooms, not to graduate filmmakers, but to graduate problem -solvers, critical thinkers and passionate people who can work with others to make that which does not yet exist, real. Nikos Theodosadis, The Director in the Classroom There are almost - seemingly - an infinite number of ways to design and implement amazing learning experiences for your students via project-based learning. Our model of project-based learning at 21st Century Schools is PBL21 - "the next step in the evolution of project-based learning!" While the climate in education for the past 15 years or so has been steeped in standardized testing, there have been, thankfully, some schools who forge ahead with meaningful, real world, exciting learning experiences for their students. They know that if students have these opportunities they will actually learn more and perform better on their standardized tests. One of the most powerful forms of PBL21 is videography, or filmmaking. This experience provides students with an opportunity to engage with the curriculum at very high levels, enables students to develop critical 21st century skills and multiple literacies for the 21st century.  These questions, and many more, can be explored using these resources. From the arts to history . . . these are wonderful ways to engage students in many courses. These are great resources for Constitution Day as well as the upcoming Presidential Election 2016! What are the connections between the American Revolution and what is happening in America today? Integrate technology through videography and filmmaking – students can create . . .
 We are seeing signs – like the first robin we see after a long winter, or the first crocus popping its head up through the snow – of a return to Spring, a return to life, in education. Unfortunately, standardized testing mania has paralyzed teaching and learning. Like "the Blob"it has eaten schools alive. Like Godzilla terrifying humans, it has terrorized million of educators, parents and worst of all - students.  NCLB was signed into law in the United States in 2002, which started an increasingly ominous impact on education as schools began their transformation from "places of learning" to "test prep centers".   Schools are struggling to find ways to transform themselves into centers of 21st century learning. They ask themselves how they can make school - education - more relevant for their students. Last summer my husband and I intentionally chose to drive, rather than fly, from central Texas to northern Arizona to work with a middle school. I wanted to take in the incredible scenery of the farms, plains, desert and the pine-forested, snow-capped mountains. It was an incredible experience, and the result was a plethora of possibilities and ideas for projects - just based upon our experiences on that drive. From environmental studies to science fiction and history, the ideas were fantastic. You may read about those in From Science Fiction to Science Fact and in STEM/STEAM Curriculum Ideas are All Around Us. While I consider myself an explorer and lifelong learner, fully committed to education that is relevant, rigorous and real word, and I always look for creative and exciting possibilities for project-based learning, I too, had an incredible experience recently in a visit to Mexico City. What the media show us about Mexico certainly had not conveyed to me the astounding wealth of resources in Mexico City and the United Mexican States. For one thing, it seemed to me that the people were very much more polite than the people here in the USA. Sorry about that, Americans! The media paint a picture of Mexico as being backward, dangerous, barren and poverty-stricken. While they certainly do have plenty of poverty, there is more to Mexico than squalor and uneducated heathens. In my first two days in Mexico several experiences jolted me into a new understanding of the immense possibilities there for educators - not only in Mexico, but worldwide. First was a trip to the Teotihuacan Pyramids, followed by lunch in a spectacular underground restaurant in a cave.  “The Blob” is a 1958 film starring Steve McQueen in his first leading role. Click here to watch the trailer! Note: this post is a bit of a rant expressing my observations and frustrations over the continuing, and to me, inane, practices plaguing education since the inception of NCLB. The purpose of this article is not to denigrate educators, although I realize it sounds like that sometimes. I can say that the classroom teachers are not responsible for these practices; they were forced upon them. For several years now I have been equating a film, in which a monster called "The Blob" threatens to destroy all life on Earth, to the ongoing standardized testing mania that has been spreading, growing and destroying education. It began in the United States, in Texas to be exact (where I live), and this monster which I have named Standardized Testing Mania has spread virtually all over the planet - like the Blob or a pandemic. The definition of genius is taking the complex  More than a rant, though, this is an invitation for you to reflect upon the damage this situation has done to students, educators and parents. And an invitation to begin a conversation - here and at your school or in your community. I offer some questions to spark your conversations.  One of the results of my summer 3R's (relax, refresh, renew) STEAM trip earlier this month was to once again engage with Science Fiction as a powerful curricular theme. Both the visit to the UFO Research Center and Museum in Roswell, New Mexico and the visit to Meteor Crater were excellent inspirations as well as a treasure trove of resources for the creative teacher. One of my mottos is: Learning is serious, but that doesn't mean it has to be grim! WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION? Science fiction predicts change, explores consequences, and studies potential futures. It teaches adaptability and open mindedness in the face of change. It performs "imaginary experiments" to see how people react to change before the change actually happens, and provides a different perspective on our world. Science fiction writers see the future as a consequence of our present day. In this light, it is also a vehicle for social analysis and an opportunity to experiment with new concepts and their effects on humanity and the world. Science fiction presents many issues from many different points of view for us to examine. Click the "Read More" link below to discover an amazing array of resources and idea sparkers for a Sci-FI PBL!
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