
Scott’s Trip To China To Learn More About Teaching Non-Cognitive Skills
December 18, 2014
As I promised in yesterday’s blog, today I will elaborate on the second aspect of Scott’s trip to China. Yesterday, he spoke at Beijing Academy about the importance of young people becoming more educated in 21st century skills (also called “non-cognitive skills). Beijin Academy is the leading new education reform focused school in all of China. Scott was not the only speaker featured at this incredible event. The list included Richard Elmore from Harvard University (a leading expert in education policy and research), Ron Beghetto from the University of Connecticut (considered by some to be the leading expert in the US on creativity), Yong Zhao (professor at the University of Oregon, and the world’s leading expert on education in China), and education thought leaders from the UK and Australia. As Scott said to me when we were chatting this morning “it was pretty surreal to share a stage with them”.
So how exactly does Scott fit into this group of professors and researchers? As many in our summer camp family know, many years ago Scott began conducting independent research about the skills that universities and employers most desired in their students and employees. This led him to his work with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. P21 brings together CEOs from companies like Apple, Cisco, LEGO and Microsoft, and the heads of major US colleges and universities, to develop viable solutions for decreasing the skills gap that these organizations see as an impediment to our young people successfully entering the work force. Scott’s work with P21 led him to recognize that the skills our young people so desperately need – skills like independence, critical thinking, resilience, creativity, adaptability, and effective communication – are, in fact, the skills that summer camps have been teaching young people for almost 150 years. It was this realization that led to Kenwood and Evergreen to adopt our focus on helping young people become proficient in these crucial non-cognitive skills.
But, again, why is Scott working with education experts in China on this topic? Before his trip I sat down with Scott and asked him just that question. Here’s what he said:
So that’s more of what Scott’s doing in China right now. I’m curious to know your thoughts on all of this. Are you excited about any of this? Have you had any experience working or studying in China. Do you have insights that you could share with our camp community at large?
I’ll have more to share tomorrow on this topic, but I’d also love to know your thoughts. In the meantime, if you are curious about how we teach 21st century/non-cognitive skills at our traditional summer camp in NH, take a look at these recent profiles of some of our coaches and teachers:
- Jonno Whitham, Ropes course director
- Chris Straker, Basketball coach
- Andrew Disbrow, Ceramics teacher
- Kass Walsh, Tennis coach
- Tom Shanks, Soccer coach
Kenwood and Evergreen is a summer camp for boys and girls, ages 8-15. We help children develop their 21st century skills at camp to help them be tomorrow’s leaders and innovators.
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