What’s so novel about 21st-century skills? Innovative educators who use engaging projects, LMSs, and other technology in their learning systems are certainly nothing new. In discussing 21st-century skills, many teachers claim to have already implemented styles like modeling instruction, which is based on the work of Arizona State University physicist David Hestenes.

But a scattered community of 21st-century skills educators isn’t enough. What the US needs is “a system built around the idea that every kid needs to be able to critically think and problem-solve,” says Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

To do so, teacher training and state learning systems, curricula, and testing need to be aligned with such goals. In a time of troubling indicators of a dive in US competitiveness–from international testing comparisons to the low cost of skilled labor in Asia–, it’s time more schools jumped on the 21st-century skills learning system track.

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