by Susan Santone | Apr 22, 2016 | 21st Century Learning, critical thinking, Ecological Economics, Sustainability
What comes to mind when you hear Earth Day and education? Do you see endangered species posters? Or perhaps a paper mache rainforest? Such projects can be fun. But focusing on exotic animals and ‘wild’ places sends the message that the environment is a place both far...
by Susan Santone | Apr 11, 2016 | 21st Century Learning, Curriculum, Economics, Teacher Education
Crime is good. So are accidents, lawsuits, illness and divorce. Sound crazy? This is the logic of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—and the message kids are getting from most economics curriculum. The GDP is the total market value of goods and services produced and...
by Susan Santone | Mar 21, 2016 | 21st Century Learning, critical thinking, Ecological Economics, Higher Education
Earth Day is around the corner, and environmental lessons will take center stage in many science courses. But what about economics? You might be wondering what economics has to do with Earth Day. After all, isn’t consumption—a driver of the economy– harming the...
by Susan Santone | Feb 23, 2016 | 21st Century Learning, Common Core, critical thinking
“When am I ever going to use this?” We’ve probably all heard that from students. To engage today’s tech-savvy kids, many schools are reaching for the latest technologies. While potentially valuable, technology-based “innovation” overlooks something much more basic:...
by Susan Santone | Jan 29, 2016 | 21st Century Learning, Common Core, critical thinking, public education, Teacher Education
This post builds on earlier articles about the curriculum I believe students need to thrive into the future. There is simply not enough room here to describe the stunning units teacher colleagues are designing, so please contact me if you’d like to learn more about...
by Susan Santone | Jan 8, 2016 | 21st Century Learning
For over a decade we’ve been hearing about so-called “21st century skills,” including collaboration, communication, and creativity. These are all wonderful, but they’re nothing new; they’re timeless abilities that have propelled culture and civilization over many...
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