preparing students for their future

The articles that we've read for class reflect another of our class readings from last semester.  John Dewey's beliefs written in Experience in Education support "Four things every student should learn..but every school is not teaching" by Pierce and "Technology-Transformed Learning Environments" by Warlick.  Dewey writes that in traditional education, students are taught facts outside of their experience.  He believes that what is studied should be derived from materials in life, including experiences.  He wrote that it is the teacher's job to select things from the student's experience that will lead to new problems.  Warlick shows that this is still true when he describes learning experiences as "fueled by questions,"  problems or barriers that need to be solved.  He also states that the end product of a learning experience should be of authentic value to the learner and/or to others.  He believes that grades are irrelevant and aren't an authentic way to respond in a learning environment.  When I read this article I can see why some students have not been motivated in school.  The majority of their learning activities do not come from their experience, are not authentic problems and do not provide students with meaningful responses.
After reading Dennis Pierce's article I think that it is very important to use 21's century technology standards in addition to state (& or national) standards when planning learning activities.  This way we can ensure that they're getting everything they need before they graduate.  I really appreciate the value he placed to global empathy because I would like to see more people understanding and respecting eachother's point of view, especially those of other cultures.