Week Two- "Class" Reflection

I wasn't in class (recruiting in Atlanta-- and boy, can I say a lot about my thoughts on HBCUs, privates, and large public institutions when it comes to career and professional school preparation just from my couple hours at each type of campus and interacting with their students and staff-- but that can wait for another day) last night, but two of my financial aid group members sent me their notes!

I watched the Shift Happens video, but this wasn't the first time I watched it.  I watched it previously in a Career Development course and found it so interesting.  Looking at it from a policy perspective, I really enjoyed it in a completely different way than when I first saw it.  With the career course, I took it more with we need to prep our students with life skills that will make them successful and adaptable in an ever changing job market.

From a policy standpoint, I had to really think about it.  With things changing so much, how can we make broad policies and expect them to stick and be rigid for long periods of time.  That's in direct opposition to how our students will need to react in the world, and it could put us at a disadvantage (if it hasn't already).  It also confirmed ideas of international convergence and how need to emulate what works in other countries (particularly those with growing economics and workforces) to help our students after they leave the traditional school system.

It also made me feel a little hopeless because we working withing many educational policies that are not successfully and are potentially disadvantaging our students with teachers teaching to a test at the end of the year instead of teaching students to think critically and analytically.  Important skills are being removed out of the classroom that need to be brought back in.