Warming up.

Are you a full-time or part-time student?

What subject(s) are you studying?

Why did you choose this/these subject(s)?

Which topic/subject do you find the most difficult/interesting?

What was your favourite subject when you were at school?

What do you plan to do when you finish studying?

Is there anything else you would like to study in the future?

Read the text. There are five parts in it. Each of them discusses certain aspects of the role of education in modern life.  Define the mail idea of each part. Discuss the ideas with your group mates.

Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

education

to empower

an adult

a participant

society

values, attitudes and behaviors

to handle the challenge

to gain information about the surrounding world

a demand for

eager

to develop at breakneck speed

to cultivate and maintain the student's interest in smth

curiosity

to collaborate

the mental health and development of children

to prevent crime

cognitive and behavioural traits

exposure to a safe learning environment

frustration and negative energy

simultaneously

 The Role of Education in the 21st Century

1.Education should be a means to empower children and adults alike to become active participants in the transformation of their societies. Learning should also focus on the values, attitudes and behaviors which enable individuals to learn to live together in a world characterized by diversity and pluralism.

Our world is changing, and in order to prepare young people for this new world there is a need to change the way they are educated. In the 21st century educators must create a curriculum that will help students connect with the world and understand the issues that our world faces.

Education establishments in the 21st century have become nerve centers, a place for teachers and students to connect with those around them and their community. Teachers in this new environment have become less instructors and more orchestrators of information, giving the youngsters the ability to turn knowledge into wisdom.

2. When I started thinking about why education is so important, I remembered my high school years when I used to spend almost five hours a month on math homework, wake up at 6:00 AM and get ready for my soccer game after school. I remembered my teachers, school subjects, the study and the fun! I never really hated school. But I have seen many of my peers who hated going to school; I have had some friends who did not like the idea of studying. Some needed to be up in summer school for recovery. I personally was always focused because I wanted to become a software engineer. I know it will be hard and very challenging. However, I believe I can handle the challenge.

The first thing that strikes me about education is knowledge gain. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something better. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. People debate over the subject of whether education is the only thing that gives knowledge. Some say education is the process of gaining information about the surrounding world while knowledge is something very different. They are right. But then again, information cannot be converted into knowledge without education. Education makes us capable of interpreting things, among other things. It is not just about lessons in textbooks. It is about the lessons of life. One thing I wish I can do is, to provide education for all: no child left behind and change the world for good!

3. It is no secret that a good education has the power to change a life. What is new is the demand for that change.

Governments are investing more than ever before on educating their citizens, eager for them to compete in the global workforce. A growing global middle class is spending more of its own money on educating their families. Employers are looking for a new sort of colleague - someone with the skills to flourish in the 21st century. Combined with technologies that continue to develop at breakneck speed, the result is a world that has the want, and the means, to learn at scale.

Yet there is so much to be done. One in five adults lack the written communication skills they need to progress in life, and 57 million children do not know what it's like to step inside a classroom. Many millions more are in education, but not learning effectively. The global challenge for education is not just about providing access, but also ensuring progress.

4. In order to educate in the 21st century, teachers and administrators need to cultivate and maintain the student's interest in the material by showing how this knowledge applies in the real world. They must also try to increase their student's curiosity, which will help them become lifelong learners. Next they should be flexible with how they teach and give learners the resources to continue learning outside of school.

There are many skills that young people need in order to be successful in the 21st century. Here are a few of the most important 21st century skills:

Ability to collaborate, work in teams

Critical thinking skills

Presentation skills

Written communication skills

Ability to use technology

Willingness to examine civic and global issues

Ability to conduct research to learn about issues and concepts

Chance to learn about new career opportunities

5. Studies have been done to determine whether education really does make children less prone to commit crimes as they get older. One study focused on 3 and 4-year-old children that were enrolled in an education program for 15 years. It found that children who didn’t participate in the preschool program, who therefore missed out on some important opportunity for early childhood development, were 70% more likely to be arrested for a crime by the age of 18. This shows that early childhood education and development is integral in ensuring the mental health and development of children, and helping prevent crime at later ages.

Early childhood education also plays an integral role in the mental health development of children. During the first three years of a child’s life, they develop their cognitive and behavioural traits, many of which are the threshold for their future personality traits. In particular, children learn skills regarding how to tackle problems and confrontations, and in these periods of a child’s life, exposure to a safe learning environment is integral in helping them develop safe and un-violent methods of confrontation. For instance, if a child is having struggles cooperating and is acting out, if they are participating in early childhood education programs, they would have access to teachers and instructors that would help the child channel their frustrations and negative energy into productive actions that would simultaneously teach them how to control their anger and discomfort.

Questions to discuss:

1. Where did you go to kindergarten?
2. Where did you go to elementary school?
3. Where did you go to junior high school?
4. Where did you go to high school?
5. Did you go to college or university?
6. Where did you go?
7. What did you study?
8. How many years did you go?
9. Did you work while you went there?
10. Did you enjoy going to elementary school?
11. Does your country have middle schools?
12. What is the age that children begin school?
13. How old are students they when they graduate?
14. Did you go to a good high school?
15. What do you remember about your teachers?
16. Who was your favorite teacher?
17. What teacher impressed you the most?
18. Do you still stay in touch with your teachers?
19. Did you have any teachers you didn't like?