From the Desk of Fran Lukens

Perspectives: What Students (Really) Need to Know

Dear St. Anne's School Family,

Do you ever wonder what your child really needs to know?

 

In a recent article, Lawrence H. Summer, former President of Harvard University asked, "Suppose the educational system is drastically altered to reflect the structure of society and what we now understand about how people learn?"

 

Summers describes the world our students will enter in the 21st century:

  • A world "that is changing very rapidly" and is "much more open" to global influences
  • Where more workplace "tasks will be carried out with far more collaboration"
  • Where "new technologies will profoundly alter the way knowledge is conveyed"
  • Where knowing how to process and use information will become more valued and factually mastery will become less important.

In another article, educator Chad Foster adds that current graduates will change careers seven to eight times during their lives.

 

Both authors describe the essential skills students need for success and the educational process that will produce them. Their lists match up with the St. Anne's School Blueprint for Success.

 

Essential Skills
Our School's Classroom Attributes
  • Ability to process and use information
  • Ability to analyze data
  • Development of questioning and listening skills
  • Focus on questions, not just answers

 

 

 

 
  • More time for direct discussion
  • Active learning classrooms with practical applications of real-world situations
  • Integrated technology
  • Dynamic learning
  • Balanced diet of relevant knowledge and critical skills
  • More emphasis on analysis of data
 
Essential Skills
Our School's Classroom Attributes
  • Strong work ethics
  • Adaptability and agility to make moves from one career to another
  • Ability to understand and adapt to compromise solutions

 
  • Learning the art of asking apt questions
  • Real life experiences
  • Learning skills that are transferable
  • Learning to adapt skills to new situations
 
Essential Skills
Our School's Classroom Attributes
  • Communication skills: ability to talk with others from all walks of life
  • People skills: effectiveness in bringing differing perspectives together
  • Acceptance of all people
  • Networking skills
  • Greater "comsmopolitanism" and tolerance
  • Ability to ask simple questions

  • Programs that encourage learning about peoples around the globe
  • Classes in the social sciences which draw from around the world
  • Ant-bias education

 

 

Essential Skills
Our School's Classroom Attributes
  • Good work ethics
  • A strong sense of personal integrity

 

  • Opportunities to work in real life situations
  • Opportunities to be part of something bigger than oneself

I hope you will take a look at the viewpoints shared by these two authors (Lawrence Summers and Chad Foster) and their congruence with our fundamental goals for our graduates and the program we have put into place to prepare them.

 

Warm regards,

Fran Lukens
Head of School