Chad Foster, best selling author and nationally acclaimed speaker addressed the crowd on our last day of this years national conference. He shared with the crowd the importance of imparting students with 21st Century Skills. Other key thoughts:

• Students must understand the connection what they are being asked to learn and how that content will apply to their workplace journeys later in life.
• If education is about knowledge, then preparation must be all about skills.
• It is essential that all students be exposed to the essential 21st century skills they will need to succeed.
• It is equally important that these skills be taught in an engaging environment where students will have the greatest chance of acquiring these critical skills.
• All skills must be learned and skills only improve if they are practiced.

UPDATE:

We had time to chat with the Mexican delegation who are visiting from the international offices in Mexico. You can read their updates on their blog: http://nccepgearup2010.blogspot.com/

UPDATE:

Attended todays GEAR UP state directors meeting today. Here is what Shelley Davis had to say:

The Directors meeting was a provocative dialogue and exchange of ideas and planning for the upcoming grant cycle. The session was driven by key questions to encourage and solicit full audience participation. It was especially helpful to have James Davis, Acting Director of Teacher and Student Development and Program Officer McNeil join us for this discussion.

Shelley Davis, Director, CA GEAR UP

We also visited our friends at Shasta college presenting on their excellent GUTS University student services program. GUTS is a 3 week comprehensive summer program that combines academics, career exploration, leadership, and character development. See a slideshow HERE.

UPDATE:

Another great program is SLiCK (student leadership inspired by Consuelo Kickbusch) presented by CoolSpeak. They engage students with combination of:

• motivational presentations
• team building
• small group discussion
• individual personal development assignments.

Share with us your insights on these topics or if you attended the conference and have stories to share.