Today's students are digital natives. That is, they were born into a world that has always known personal computers, the internet, smartphones, and digital gaming. As a result, it can be assumed that these children are highly proficient in their use. Unfortunately, this could be further from the truth. A multi-year study conducted by Learning.com revealed that 75 percent of fifth and eighth graders are non-proficient in 21st-century skills. The study involved over 110,000 stu

Researchers continue to debate how long human beings have been able to talk with one another. Estimates for the use of oral language range from 50,000 to 2 million years ago. Writing, however, is a much newer phenomenon and can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, beginning in 3400 BCE with the cuneiform writing system. Oral and written communication are not exactly new skills. Still, they are just important today as they have been throughout history. A Pew Research Center

Albert Einstein once said that “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Einstein’s words were prescient as critical thinking and problem-solving are quickly becoming the most sought after “soft-skills” in the job market. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of job postings that mention “critical thinking” as a desired skill has doubled since 2009. Indeed.com, one of the nation’s leading job search sites, found that over 2