21st Century Skills

Hessam

In a society like we live in today, where we have to fight for dominance in our work environments, we need to prove our efficacy as best we can. Recent debates have been occurring about which 21st century skills are the most successful. The more idealist side claiming that creativity is should be allowed to flourish and the other, arguing that the traditional 3Rs approach is what is needed and expected.  

Creativity, Ken Robinson believes, is the most sufficient skill to a profitable business. He explains that without imaginative minds, businesses would not be able to ‘wow’ the consumers of the 21st century. As important as having originality in new products may be, it should not be the main skill that you decide to uphold and develop as you become a working member of society. Where would we be without intelligence? How would have the mediocre thirteen colonies of the 18th century grown into this prosperous nation by lacking mentality and diligence? We need smarts and like the former MIT president suggests, we need to turn back to the basics of education: reading, writing, and arithmetic. I believe that in order for us to succeed as individuals and even as a whole country, it’s necessary that we focus more on what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom to produce it for. All the while taking the precautions necessary to ensure we have the funds and resources required. Businesses are looking to get a profit and to achieve that goal, we need qualification not imagination. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and there are hundreds of others competing for the same job as you.

Today, decent work is hard to come by and to better our chances of being accepted for the job we want, we have to be academically experienced. Creativity may be a valuable skill at times, but being knowledgeable of the basic academics will ultimately make you successful.