EME 2040 Which life skills are most important

Over the past week I have had an opportunity to review a few articles regarding implementing use of computer technology in the K12 environment. I have also had to post end of quarter grades for my 7th and 8th grade students for the end of the semester. I have one computer in my class. Students are not allowed to access it. I do not know the exact percentage of students in my class who have access to computers at home but it appears to be less than 75%. Approximately 25% of my students do not have computers at home.

Socio-demographics for my school include a high number of low income and even semi-transient and homeless students. These students may not have food in the house. We have a clothing exchange locker where students can discretely select jeans or shirts or new socks and underwear. There are even basic food items available and toys.

I sort of get overwhelmed, a bit of overload, when I try to figure out what will be of greatest worth to my students. After eight years teaching 7th and 8th graders I have learned a few things that seem to make a difference. Some of these things are related to 21st century life skills but many are basic life skills from any century. I think that at the top of the list of skills is the concept that students need to become individually responsible for their own actions and deeds. There has to be a system that recognizes and rewards individual performance and reinforces leadership and character building attributes. There also has to be a legitimate way to test performance. Students also need to be challenged and given opportunities to compete. Appropriate competition builds confidence and improves performance on many different personal and team levels.

I regularly incorporate games that require collaborative team skills. We call these games Leadership Reaction Courses or LRCs. These games have a variety of learning purposes. Most common are communication skill exercises. Each game has sets of rules that can be modified to encourage creativity and innovation. All of the games require creative thinking and problem solving. With frequency I find there are students who begin to think "outside the box". This keeps the games interesting to me. With frequency these games elicit the interest of students who are on the fringes academically. They are smart but have never been challenged or at least never accepted the challenge. This combination of creativity and development of leadership seems to lure them in. This is sort of my own ARCS motivational model. Results are at times most satisfying. This is why I teach. I have seen lives changed and students begin to accept personal responsibility for their own course in life. Course changes in 7th and 8th grade can be dramatic but often less painful than even a few years later.

As a matter of perspective computers are only a small part of what is really important in life.