By John Kershaw, President of C21 Canada, and the former Deputy Minister of Education for New Brunswick

On February 19, 2014 the Nova Scotia Minister of education announced the establishment of a blue ribbon panel to review the province’s public education system. The review panel, chaired by the Honourable Myra Freeman, former Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, is undertaking public consultations as part of its process. The mandate of the review panel is to set “a bold new direction for Nova Scotia’s public schools.”

In order to engage effectively in this important initiative the Nova Scotia School Board Association (NSSBA) launched its own process of consultations and internal deliberations. In April 2014, the NSSBA released Shaping a New Vision for Public Education in Nova Scotia, a discussion paper calling for a radically different model to deliver learning in the 21^st Century.

At the heart of the NSSBA paper is the recognition that the world has changed dramatically and a new model of learning is required to ensure public education is relevant to today’s learners. The NSSBA clearly recognizes that a bold new vision of public education is required to position Nova Scotians for success in the 21^st Century. Canadians following the 21^st century learning movement in this country will be pleased to see that the NSSBA is advocating for changes consistent with the principles that underlie this learning model. In today’s innovation driven society it is becoming increasingly recognized that people need to master what are commonly referred to as ‘21^st Century skills’. In this context, Jamie Stevens, the current president of the NSSBA, stated in the organization’s press release that “Nova Scotia will only get 21^st Century skills with a 21^st Century public education system.”

The global 21^st Century learning movement is a response to the transformational social and economic changes occurring worldwide as a consequence of the knowledge and digital era. As a non profit organization advocating for 21^st Century models of learning to be adopted across all of Canada, C21 Canada is pleased that the NSSBA is calling for a new vision of public education in Nova Scotia consistent with our Shifting Minds vision and framework document. The NSSBA discussion paper also aligns well with the direction public education is taking recently in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, in terms of focusing more intently on the development of 21^st century skills and harnessing the power of technology for learning and teaching.

Readers wishing to learn more about 21^st century skills and the essential elements of the 21^st Century learning model are referred to C21 Canada’s Shifting Minds document.

Shaping a New Vision for Public Education in Nova Scotia is appropriately framed as a discussion document and in this spirit it also raises questions that the NSSBA believes are important for Nova Scotians to consider as the province moves forward in its review of its public education system. C21 Canada is confident that the Nova Scotia education review panel, and the government of Nova Scotia, will heed the sound advice being offered in this insightful contribution to the province’s review process.

C21 Canada applauds the work of the NSSBA and encourages both Nova Scotians and all Canadians to review the discussion paper and benefit from both its vision and the questions it raises.

We also encourage our followers and supporters in Nova Scotia to participate in the online survey being conducted by the Nova Scotia review panel on public education which can be found at: http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educationreview/. This is the time to speak up and be heard if you want your province’s public education to continue to be relevant and designed to position Nova Scotians for success in the 21^st Century.