By
David Olusegun Ogunfowoke
The tasks of educators in recent times have shifted from what used to be the status quo of writing lesson notes, going to classto register attendance, writing notes on the board, among other.There is now a shift from what used to be obtainable in the past,as those things can no longer sufficiently match up with the demands of today’s world. Thus, there is need for our policy makers, educationists as well as educators to get thoroughlyacquitted with what the focus of education is, as far as this 21stcentury is concerned.
It is no longer a strange phenomenon to know that the world has drastically changed and moved at a very fast pace.Unfortunately, there are many potentials wasting away as a result of ignorance of what is expected to be the focus of our education as well as the educators today, as developers of life and successful skills. The world today is looking for those who can apply their cognitive (head) competence into their psychomotor (hand) coupled with their affective domain (heart) to bring about much anticipated changes in all facets of life. The education in today’s perspective is a total and comprehensive one that is not only about notes and writing notes. This is not far from the fact the world has moved into arena of technology.
This then calls for the awareness on the part of policy makers in education sectors, educationists and educators, who relate more academically with the target audience (students) on what the demands of today’s world are. The skills needed today center around those skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in this 21stcentury. These skills needed are obviously not taught specially as subjects; they are those skills that are transferable as they are embedded in the learning processes. Educationists and educators are, therefore, expected to be aware of this fact in order to tailor their daily pedagogy and instructions given to students. Prominent among those skills are: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, flexibility, initiative, social skills, productivity, leadership, sporting, aesthetics, entertainment, etc. All these, in today’s world, have proven to be needed alongside students’ literacy in Economics, Science, Geography, Civics, Government, English, Arts, Mathematics, Biology Social Studies, Commerce etc.
When those who are put in the affairs of our national education do not know the essence of life and the need forpossessing successful skills, there is no doubt that they willnever take these things very serious. The task is basically to handle life and make it better. And they can make life better by how they have been able to bring out the potential and transfer the skills needed for such life to be successful. The need to have students that can fit into this alpha generation makes it of necessity for educationists and educators to know that their pivotal task is to develop life and successful skills in the students. And this generation requires young ones who are fast critical thinkers and creative.
Developing life and skills in schools requires a deliberate effort from the educationists and educators. In fact, it is a skill on its own to be mastered by educationists and educators. The strategies needed, therefore, include but not limited to the following:
The school business as well as education as a whole today has gone beyond what it used to be in the past. Sadly, looking at how our education in this nation is fashioned, there seems to me no clear-cut alignment with the current debates in today’s world.Succeeding in life in today’s world requires getting additional skills. And as policy makers in education sector, educationists or educators at all levels, there is need to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in order to get the development of the studentsaright and make them acquire the needed skills to be successful in life.
