“My favorite part is watching the kids have fun and taking something you taught them and really running with it.” Tony Corbin, Mission Bay High School

“To thrive in an increasingly complex and dynamic world where routine manual and cognitive tasks are being assumed by machines, those emerging from school must be able to think analytically, find reliable information, and communicate with others. To be sure that we will work toward specific outcomes, the Hewlett Foundation has set as its goal that at the very least 15 percent of public school students will be assessed for mastery of these skills by 2017, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (now awaiting reauthorization) will again be up for renewal. This article describes the importance of promoting rigorous and deeper learning to focus on a set of skills and knowledge that reinforce each other and foster ways in which today's students can succeed in higher education, earn wages that will support a family, and participate fully as citizens in the new century.”