“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” - Alvin Toffler

             The above quote by Toffler is not taking away the importance of being able to read and write but rather bringing light to the reality that deeper thinking must be present. The thought of comprehension being the ability to memorize, summarize, and/or regurgitate information is no longer enough. The ability to apply information learned to new ideas and in new ways is the shift that has been made in society today. This same shift needs to occur in classrooms.

             David Thornburg, Edutopia (2012), explained that students who are engaged are more likely to remember the content they are learning. Technology has become so ingrained in the daily lives of youth today that it must also be infused into classrooms. The process of learning, unlearning, and relearning in the 21st-century must first be understood by educators and stakeholders before successfully implementing it to students. Klein (2008) described a challenge learning, unlearning, and relearning faces in today’s schools:

            This process is not unlike the one faced by teachers everywhere in a  climate
            where local communities, cities, and states are trying to define both what   
            makes a highly qualified teacher and figure out means of assessing and  
            measuring highly qualified. (p. 95)

Once buy-in is present, the shift can be made to begin the process of learning, unlearning, and relearning with students. We, as teachers, cannot truly teach something we do not believe in ourselves. Voogt et al. (2013) expressed that “It is obvious that not only learners, but also teachers need to acquire 21st century competencies as well as become competent in supporting 21st century learning.” Students will have much more opportunities to be successful in school and in society when they are able to apply 21st-century skills to their learning. 

Crockett, L., Jukes, I., &  Churches, A. (2011). Literacy is not enough: 21st–century
               fluencies for the digital age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Edutopia. (2012). David Thornburg on the evolving classroom (Big Thinkers Series)
               [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/david-thornburg-
                 future-classroom-video
Klein, E. (2008). Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning: Lessons from One School’s
              Approach to Creating and  Sustaining Learning Communities. Teachers 
                Quarterly. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ810659.pdf

Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., &  Mishra, P. (2013). Challenges to learning and
              schooling in the digital networked world of the 21st century. Journal of
              Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413. Retrieved from the Walden 
Library Databases.