"And now, please, teach us really important things."

The vignette illustrates the silent claim students have been making for quite a few years and this pandemic has made more evident. We seem not to be educating them in the right direction.

Teachers are making an extraordinary effort to meet today’s education needs. They are updating their ITC management knowledge and they are putting all this knowledge at work to create online synchronic and asynchronous lessons. Nevertheless, this endeavor appears not to be sufficient to hit the target.

The problem is neither teachers nor students. The problem is that curriculums should have been changed to parallel the critical circumstances as well as the issues that changing times pose on education.

Students have a quite facilitated access to information, so teachers do not need to teach so much content. Students have any kind of content at their fingertips just clicking a key of their computers. Moreover, once students finish schooling, it is very likely that much of the learned content could be outdated. The content should be the tool used by teachers to help students develop skills that are more necessary.

Students need to develop:

Communication skills to keep contact with their peers, their teachers and anyone they might be interested in interacting with. Students need to understand that just speaking our minds whenever we want does not help positive communication. They must become aware of how the way in which we put our ideas forward enhances or hinders interaction. We must also help them to become aware of the relevance active listening has in positive interaction. Students need to develop their listening skills, understanding that communication is not just stating our point but also perceiving how our speech impacts on our interactants.

This practice will help students to develop awareness of themselves and awareness of others, which derives in respect for differences. They will understand that thinking differently does not make us enemies.

Collaboration skills will follow. If we can respect individual perspectives and we can interact with others, we will be able to work together with others. With the fast knowledge development we are encountering these days, nobody is capable to cover all updated information. Students need to value the benefits of sharing responsibility to achieve a common aim.

Students will be able to work collaboratively only if they develop their individual and social responsibility. Working together, students will perceive how individual effort contributes to reach the finish as a team. They will also experience the negative result of selfish and competitive behavior.

Thinking skills are paramount these days. Students need to develop the capacity to draw their own conclusions once they face new situations. They need to distinguish reliable sources of information, to read contexts and to choose the correct way to solve everyday problems. This will be possible if they strengthen their critical and creative thinking skills.

Students can build up these skills while they learn any kind of content. What actually matters is the way lessons develop and how teachers assess their performance. These are two issues I’m planning to write about soon.