Essential Things

School's about to start back up, and we're a decade into the 21st century.  The reason I mention that is because I expect to hear a lot about what number century we're in this year in professional development activities.  Such talk is frequent in public education today, with lingo like "21st century skills," "21st century learning," "21st century learners," "21st century teaching," "21st century teachers," "21st century classrooms," "21st century schools," etc. ad. nauseam.  Apparently, someone somewhere noticed that the odometer has turned over onto... yes, the 21st century. 


What there is not a lot of talk about, disturbingly, is precisely what these 21st century terms mean.