Welcome to the Critical Skills Blog, home to over a thousand human-generated articles—never AI—on topics that matter to continuous education. To find articles of interest, use the “Search” tab. Please feel free to comment, and please subscribe. All content on this site is free.
-
Managing Work-Based Learning Programs to teach “Critical Skills”
During the “School-to-Work” days, a program called Coop2000 was used by many school systems to manage their work-based learning programs. Coop2000 Just click on “Powerpoint Presentation” to view slideshow. The system enabled schools to: “Connect” work-based activities to the SCANS Foundation Skills and Competencies (Teaching the SCANS Competencies), Create work-based… More⇢
-
Content vs 21st Century Skills – “Integration” – NOT “Separation”
Think of it as a “balancing act.” Filling a student’s head with “content” without equipping the student with skills to actually DO something with that content is ridiculous. You may enable the student to score well on some standardized test, but you don’t prepare the student with the sorts of… More⇢
-
Teaching Critical Skills – Are Common Core Standards the Answer??
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics that states voluntarily adopt. The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to: enter… More⇢
-
About Facing College – Preparation, Selection, Major, and Focus While In College
I have delivered high school graduation addresses from time to time, and give advice to students going to college. I’ll share this advice and welcome your comments. Perhaps many will not agree my advice– how to prepare for college, what college to select, what to choose as a major, or… More⇢
-
Use the “Doom Loop Language!”
Reblogged from The Doom Loop Blog. Useful shorthand for visualizing a career situation. More⇢
-
Building Collaborative Partnerships: A Unique Skill Set (by Craig Holloman)
Craig Holloman offers a more in depth description of and need for the “interpersonal skill.” I recommend his blog to others. More⇢
-
Standardized Testing – Texas Started It . . . Looks Like They’re Starting to End It!
Standardized testing does not measure “critical skills.” What they do measure is questionable, and the effects of high stakes testing do not seem to bring the sort of desired results as predicted when such testing practices were implemented. Using such tests to measure school performance started in Texas and it… More⇢
-
Logic Can Work Backwards – Sometimes . . . Richard Feynman Could Do It!
The traditional path for logical deduction is to progress from hypotheses (premises) to conclusions . . . or, as they say, “P” implies “Q.” It can work the other way, sometimes, but it’s risky business. The late great physicist, Richard Feynman, had the ability to think backwards and often did.… More⇢
Meet Your Host – Charles Cranston Jett
Charles Cranston Jett is an author, civic educator, and Professional Certified Coach based in Chicago. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1964) and Harvard Business School, he served during the Cold War aboard the nuclear submarine USS Ray (SSN 653), where his tactical innovations helped inspire Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character. He developed the Field Studies methodology to teach “Critical Skills” and was endorsed by the Department of Labor in 1994. He is the author of six books, including Super Nuke!, hosts three podcasts, and writes across his Critical Skills Blog and Civic Sage platforms on history, leadership, and the health of the American republic. He and his wife, Dr. Nancy Church, co-host the Chicago Salons at Water Tower Residences.
