Nemroff Pictures created this video (2:42) of what the future classroom will look like, including individualized learning options, holographic keyboards and screens, open secure wireless access, context-sensitive devices and flexible movement between local networks. The elements that surprise me are students are still attending school in classrooms, and teachers still standing at the front of instructional spaces. If all this connectedness, mobility and holography are available, why would students still be anchored to bricks-and-mortar physical facilities? Your input and insights on this are welcomed!
future
What Will Learning Look Like in 10 Years?
This excellent infographic from KnowledgeWorks shows the direction and dynamics in play for learning over the next decade (click through to view and download this document in PDF format from the source). Education will transform from students adapting to an assigned classroom to learners thriving in a rich learning ecosystem with teachers as coaches. Imagine the possibilities!
Born in Another Time
How far my parent’s generation advanced past the achievements of my grandparent’s generation. And how much farther my generation has progressed beyond the accomplishments of my parents. And even though we cannot imagine everything the future holds for our children, we know they will push the boundaries of living and learning even farther ahead for all humanity. So why would we persist in sustaining an education system that does not prepare them for their future? More than any generation that’s come before them, our children need and deserve new opportunities to learn and be successful. Beyond brick-and-mortar facilities and walled-in classrooms, measured common competencies and and old-as-time outcomes. The sage wisdom of this proverb still holds true for us today. Our children are expecting more of us, and we must have the capacity and the will to deliver.
What Business Are You In?
We are in education. We aren’t in the happiness business or the customer service business or the product development business. We’re in the human potential business. We are so NOT one-size-fits-all, standardized assembly-line, profit-driven bottom line, nine-to-five clock punchers. We are people-centric, in-the-moment, altruistic, roll-up-our-sleeves, touch-the-future, idealists who support children as they learn and grow into thriving, vibrant, happy successful contributors to a quickly-changing world.
No two days are alike. We are constantly learning and living new experiences. Anytime we start to get comfortable there’s a new challenge or opportunity that shakes us up and pushes our thinking. Human potential is not a commodity or a market or a destination; it’s a journey. And each of us can tell the story of the many lives we have influenced along the way…and the way those lives have influenced us. We may not always see the long-term impact of our efforts on these young lives, but that’s the understanding we have working with human potential…it’s a promise…yet to be fulfilled.
While we’re not business-people, the human potential business is…well…a business. Dedicating our lives to the education of the future leaders of our country requires resources. We see it as in investment. We don’t expect to make a killing at it…we aren’t in it for the money…but as the caretakers of the next generation, we do ask to be supported in this important work: compensation, training and materials. And it doesn’t have to be completely in cash. In kind support and security go a long way in allowing us to get the job done. Nothing makes our work more rewarding than a thoughtful thank you, a vote of confidence, or the assurance that we can continue to count on our work to be there.
The human potential business is as old as Aristotle. The times may change, but the work goes on. We are in the middle of a significant shift…individualized information and entertainment and communication on a global scale. Everything is available all the time…access is assumed…equity is emerging…community is connections…and connections are everything…to ideas…to people…to opportunities. It’s all about personal empowerment…and no two people are alike in how they want and need to be empowered. This is a huge challenge, because human potential today has endless, unforeseen paths to success. There is no one right answer…standardization is dead on arrival.
In a time of uncertainty and soul-searching, human potential professionals need to keep our focus on who we are and what we are about. It isn’t about the politics or the contracts, the texts, the tech or other tools. Those are distractions from who we are and what we do. If you want to be a public official or a union spokesperson or a regional sales rep, maybe the human potential business isn’t your true calling. These are all fine pursuits, but their bottom lines are measured by polls and profits. Move on. Do what you have to do. But for those of us satisfied making a difference in the lives of children, we need to focus on living our ideals…reaching every learner…connecting them to their futures. It’s not a career…it’s a vocation…helping each child fully realize their potential…their promise.
So the next time someone asks you what you do…tell them you’re a human potential professional…with a pride and a confidence that transcends all the current controversy surrounding public education. That controversy is not about you and me. Remember those times in the past you’ve ended up responsible for someone else’s mess? Why make that mistake again? We didn’t get into this to respond to polarizing political posturing or fighting over taxpayer funding. If society values our roles as caretakers of the future, it needs to find the ways to keep us in business. As soon as we put ourselves in the position where we feel the need to justify our role…our value…our worth to society…we have lost our calling. It isn’t about us. It’s about the children…and society’s stake in their future…which is ultimately society’s self-interest…not ours.
Don’t let anyone demean your value as a human potential professional…it’s what we do…it’s who we are… it’s the most admirable, laudable, fulfilling work there is. It’s the reason why we got into education in the first place. Everything else is part of a larger, collective communal responsibility. Don’t make it your own.
Choosing Your Tomorrow Today
Video: An excellent discussion on next steps in choosing
our future from the Whole Child Live Symposium.
The Panel, (l-r): Yong Zhao, Karen Pittman, Charles Haynes, Gene Carter, David Osher
See more video from the Symposium at
http://www.ascd.org/conferences/whole-child-symposium/live.aspx
Actualization 