for students to be able to look up information. But now, we also have to teach new skills around discerning that information – being able to evaluate and figure out if the information makes sense, if it’s true, if it’s accurate. That is a huge shift in public education: how we view information. But that’s the new reality. And students have to be taught those skills: how to look at information, how to discern it, how to evaluate it, and how to measure it for accuracy. That is an education component that we have to teach now.” “And public education is more than just content knowledge,” he adds. “There’s a ‘citizenry’ aspect, which was there at the beginning of public education in our country, and I think we’ve gotten back to that a little bit. The pandemic taught us a lot of things, one of which was to reinforce the values of public education. So we’re here to help students develop those citizen aspects and attributes and to make sure they will be successful in the 21st century economy that we live in now.” SKILLS AND STANDARDS According to the District’s Vision Statement, the essential skills for that 21st century education are: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity & Innovation, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, and Citizenship. “We really are teaching skills and not finite content,” says Porter.“The content is more of a way to use those skills that you need for life. Content changes and the importance of content changes. But the skills don’t change much. If you can teach kids the skills in order to be true life-long learners, then that is one of the most important parts of public education that we can offer.” Porter also relies on the state standards that have been promulgated by the State of Maine, most of which reflect the Common Core.“I think in our district, we’ve been really serious about those standards, which is good practice in any school district,” he avers. “It’s slow and steady and making sure we are teaching a combination of content and those critical skills. We also focus on wellness and that students are comfortable in their environment, and that we’re providing an environment that is conducive to learning. It’s not rocket science; we’re just consistent and deliberative about what we do.” 256 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 12
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