Given the stresses of the last two years, many school and system leaders have turned their focus to student and teacher wellbeing. Wellbeing is always important and should always be a focus, but it is not enough for schools to just focus on this. This is a major risk right now. We cannot afford to take our foot off the academic pedal because student and teacher wellbeing needs attention.
Many educators also advocate for more attention to skills, such as collaboration and problem solving. Employers have long wanted people who are effective communicators, collaborators, and problem solvers. These skills are also valuable outcomes that schools can teach and nurture. But, like wellbeing, a desire to focus on skills does not replace a need to focus on academic basics. To problem solve, one needs capabilities in mathematics and logic. To communicate and collaborate, one needs capabilities in literacy.
These are not ‘either, or’ issues. To address the educational needs of the future generations, an ‘and, and’ approach is needed; schools need to explicitly teach literacy skills and mathematical skills as well as the capabilities.