Preparing our kids

12/10/2016

We talk a lot about preparing our students for the world they will inhabit. All schools do. But do we know what that world will look like?

A child in Early Years will be at the peak of his/her career in 2050 - 2055. Do we have any idea what the world will look like in 2050? These days, looking even five years ahead is a perilous endeavour. The truth is that we have little idea what 2021 will look like, let alone 2050. And when we try to predict what 2021 will be like, it's usually pretty scary!

2050 will be different. That much is certain. It will be different in ways we cannot imagine. The noted futurist Ian Jukes claims that the quantity of information in the world doubles every 73 days (i.e. five times a year). So this time next year we should be in a world with 32 times as much information - that's a little disquieting. In two years time, 1,024 times as much information - that's a bit frightening. If you do the Math, by 2050 the world should contain two nonillion (that's two, followed by thirty zeros) times as much information.

And that's if the current rate of increase in information remains the same. According to Jukes, it's accelerating, and will continue to do so. So two nonillion is a conservative estimate!

How do we prepare children for this future when, to be honest, we haven't a clue what it will look like? We cannot prepare them for a specific set of conditions because we don't know what those conditions will be, but we do know they will be very, very different.

We must prepare our kids for a constantly and rapidly changing world. We must make them into confident, creative and adaptive learners who will thrive in a rapidly changing environment. We must teach them to be joyful learners, so they never stop learning.

And I believe we should look at what will not change. I believe that things like integrity, humility, compassion, courage and perseverance will serve them as well in thirty years time as they do now. I think that good people will still be good people.

I believe that content-based curricula will disappear. So much of what we are currently teaching will be irrelevant. It's happening already. I can use logarithm tables to help me with multiplication and division. Not very useful. I was taught to use a slide rule - why? I can do long division. I never do, but I can. I can recite the first two lines of the periodic table.

It's fun to read about some of the next-generation technology possibilities. Driverless cars - we're all used to that idea, although I must confess I'm not sure about how they would work in Mumbai. What about micro-chip processors that can be implanted in the nasal passages, and allow us to simultaneously translate spoken foreign languages? Will they come? Should we continue to teach French?

At a conference recently, I was in a group of heads that was asked "What things should we drop from our current curricula?" A lady I have enormous respect for responded immediately "Anything that can be done by a machine".

I can see where she's coming from, but my conservative nature makes it hard for me to agree with her. What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear your comments.

10 Comments

Sheetal Khanduja (Nursery E)

12/10/2016 15:02:35

I came across an article a few days back and it said - "The so-called Apollo Guidance Computer used a real time operating system, which enabled astronauts to enter simple commands by typing in pairs of nouns and verbs, to control the spacecraft. It was more basic than the electronics in modern toasters that have computer controlled stop/start/defrost buttons. It had approximately 64Kbyte of memory and operated at 0.043MHz."

This machine took Neil Armstrong to the moon! Our phones today have faster processors....but love, compassion and empathy were the building blocks of life then and even now - something does stay constant....

Neil

13/10/2016 09:58:49

An interesting point Sheetal. We used to do so much with so little. I wonder if now we do so little with so much? I bought (at my wife's insistence) an i-phone 7s. I think I am able to use maybe 5% of its capabilities

Rachita Raisinghani

12/10/2016 21:28:27

Being a believer in Sir Ken Robinson's views on education, it gives me a sense of relief to see the thoughts of the school management resonates with his.

Like you, I'm not so sure I agree with the lady's observation. Creatively and effectively using processes and disciplines to our maximum advantage requires some basic knowledge of those processes and disciplines in the first place. I think this paragraph from Jordan Ellenberg's book sums it up perfectly:
"Mathematics is not just a sequence of computations to be carried out by rote until your patience or stamina runs out-although it might seem that way from what you’ve been taught in courses called mathematics. Those integrals are to mathematics as weight training and calisthenics are to soccer. If you want to play soccer-I mean, really play, at a competitive level-you’ve got to do a lot of boring, repetitive, apparently pointless drills. Do professional players ever use those drills? Well, you won’t see anybody on the field curling a weight or zigzagging between traffic cones. But you do see players using the strength, speed, insight, and flexibility they built up by doing those drills, week after tedious week. Learning those drills is part of learning soccer."

Neil

13/10/2016 10:14:28

I think Ellenberg has got it right. I'm sure there are players who are fastest between the cones, can lift the biggest weights, and are still rubbish players. There are also mathematicians who can perform all of the procedures perfectly, but they're not real mathematicians because they don't understand. They know what to do without knowing why, and without seeing the beauty of Maths. This is why I refer to the "skill & drill" method of teaching Maths as "drill & kill"

Sonal Khanduja

13/10/2016 13:07:00

What a interesting discussion! And such an important one too. Spent a fair amount of last week researching the Indus Valley Civilisation. And of one of many interesting trivia that I came upon, was the fact that not a single piece of weaponry or arms has been found from any of the excavated sites! What a peace loving people they were. Our ancestors. I wonder what they would think about how we have fared 8000+ years hence.

What we teach in our schools today is 100% what will impact the world tomorrow. Our only hope is to hold on to that which, in principle at least, as not changed (for 8000+ years!). Peace, love, compassion, integrity and honesty. The rest as you say, is the unknown.

Neil

13/10/2016 14:54:29

Absolutely right Sonal - in our desire for the school to be "cutting edge" and "reflect the latest research", we must not lose sight of the things that are so very important.
I read that the Lego company make no weapons for their little Lego guys to hold - they think toys and weapons should be kept apart. Unfortunately, there are now companies which specialize in making all kinds of weapons for Lego characters. What a shame.
(Of course, anyone with small kids who has gone barefoot to the bathroom in the middle of the night when Lego pieces have been left lying about would say that Lego is itself a weapon!)

Samir Sagar

13/10/2016 17:31:53

Values/Ethics have been around for many millennia. They have survived many eras/dynasties/upheavals, and they will indeed survive countless more. So if we want an anchor.. a rock to rest on in an entirely unpredictable future world, we should veer towards identifying values that are sacred to us, and in the process help our children identify their set of values. As you mentioned; integrity, humility, compassion, courage and perseverance will always be required.

In my opinion, an excellent way to prepare our children for the future should involve a lot of social education. By that, I mean, communication skills, critical thinking skills, street-smartness. There are going to be people in any future we imagine (lots of people considering the way the global population is going), and social skills would be required no matter what field one is pursuing. The creators of driverless cars or language translating microchip processors would ultimately be creating products to be used by people.. designed, funded, marketed, made by people (at the very least, the person who presses the buttons of a fully-automated plant). In any scenario, social skills would be a requirement. I am proud that OIS does focus a lot on these skills.

As for your last point, it never hurts to include some old-school education in the curriculum. You may not use the periodic table, but at least you know what it is. My grammar is terrible, and I've got myself an app that checks my grammar as I write (something similar to spell check. I am writing this comment through this app), but it is because I was taught grammar in school that I know mine is terrible :)

I love these conversations here on your blog. Please do keep them going.

Thanks,
Samir

Khushboo Sareen

13/10/2016 21:44:27

Completely agree with you Sameer.. Well thought ... Social and communication skills are indeed the most important ... Specially in this era of technology where 90% of our communication happens only through mobile phones.

Neil

18/10/2016 15:43:55

I think I agree with all your points Samir (which is unusual for me). As I walk around the corridors (I do this as often as I can) during the day, most of the classes I look into are not quiet. Kids are busy, they're moving about, they're discussing, arguing, reaching consensus, exploring further........ And I am delighted to see this.
Kids who sit up straight, face the front, and pay attention do not learn very much. These are the classes I worry about

Vinnie

18/10/2016 10:21:51

Attitude
If we can teach our children to keep and show the right attitude at all times .
Constant right attitude = constant change handled correctly

''for learning to happen there needs to be activitY, engagement, excitement & relevance''
-Neil mcwilliam