Opinion
Evolution of Learning Environments – How Educationists would build Indian School of Future Part 4
Read on for amazing insights into the vision of building the school of the future…
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We were keen to feature views of School Leaders and Educators on 'The Evolution of Learning Environments: Building the Indian School of the Future'. The excitement was palpable. Educationists across the country were preparing to gather at the ScooNews EdBrainstorm with Professor Sugata Mitra on April 2 in Mumbai. In preparation for this exercise to discuss the building the Indian School of the Future, ScooNews invited key delegates at the EdBrainstorm to share their vision on the Evolution of Learning Environments. The result was a smorgasbord of ideas and beliefs, a melange of thoughts and concepts, lively agreements and livelier arguments!
The complete story featured in our April 2018 issue, we are reproducing this online as a series of articles to make it comfortable and easier for our online readers, read the 4th episode for some more amazing insights into the vision of building the school of the future…
Educating GenNext to live a life of purpose, challenge, and meaning
Global citizenship and intercultural competency are often incorporated into schools’ mission statements, but how often do schools that promise an international education in the hope of developing global citizens define what this really means? What does global citizenship and intercultural competency imply for the school’s leadership, curriculum, co-curricular activities, service learning, professional development and environmental sustainability? How can a school community develop a shared understanding of what this means and what it looks like in action? Many schools share the goal of encouraging global citizenship in their students, but experience suggests that such goals are sometimes daunting in their ambition and are all too often frustratingly vague in their structure. The focus should be typically on hidden aspects of Internationalism dealing with cultural norms, values, perceptions and assumptions and placing less emphasis on some of the more visible aspects typified by food, festivals, fashion and flags.
We need to believe that every student should be able to adapt to the global scenario that they would be a part of – the scenario that is in a constant state of flux – the scenario where change is the only constant. We need to train the wards in our charge to be steadfast in an ever-changing environment, using their skill, their core competence and thinking out of the box to make sure their success is not a probability but a certainty. Focusing on a program on Global Sustainable development goals which are designed by UNESCO could also prove to be very effective in inculcating global citizenship values.
Next generation of careers also called the yellow collar careers require a new set of skills and attitudes. Careers in Design, Art, Humanities, Innovation, and Technology will dominate the future. The leaders of tomorrow will be dominated by yellow collar workers with a fresh perceptive and a creative outlook. A yellow collar worker trades his/her competence for money as opposed to a blue collar and white collar worker who trade their time or educational qualification for money. Yellow collar careers are the next generation of careers, after blue collar and white collar jobs, where individuals possess multi-disciplinary skills coupled with a specialization in one or more skills. In other words, they blend sets of unique skills to learn better, think better, communicate better and do more!
As a school of Inspiration, we need to constantly find ways to inspire the boys and girls to find their purpose in life; dream big and then pursue it with passion. We believe every child is special in some way – some excel in sports and some in academics, some in dance and others in music, some on the stage and some in oratory. In the 21st century, there is no hierarchy of professions, each is accorded with equal respect, it all depends on what you make of it. We cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. It will leave a whole life believing it is stupid. Hence everyone has expertise in different fields. In Einstein’s words, ‘Everyone is genius in their own chosen field’. Let us all recognize that our era has been left behind and we must become new age thinkers and recognize the new realities of this remarkable millennium. It has been well said that we must prepare students for their future and not our past! Many notions of our past must be abandoned now, such as success in academics is the only real success, that being an engineer or a doctor is the only worthwhile profession and the list goes on. Now, we need to think that instead of creating a better world for our children, why don’t we focus on building better children for the world which they will inhabit? This can be done by making them future-ready through skills which are participative, collaborative and innovative. This cannot be dispensed only within classroom walls through textbooks and tests, but gained and assimilated from experiential learning and living, by embracing the ‘intangibles’ which prepare us to face and welcome change. This means all the fuss about tuitions to get that extra mark or pushing children to get 1st rank in memory based tests will not necessarily ensure lifelong success, but may, in fact, be an obstacle for future growth!!
Recognizing the new world demands we should encourage our children to explore new ideas and avenues. The future of the world will be dominated by right brain individuals because everything that the left brain does can also be done by machines. It is believed that the tomorrow’s world will no longer need people with high computational or numerical skills; nor does the world need people with fantastic memories to hoard knowledge. We need people who can think, analyse, question, innovate and grow! Their yardstick of success is not the regular salary that is credited at the end of each month, nor is it a conventionally safe nine to five job! The new generation wants to live a life of purpose, challenge, and meaning. And this is what we need to aim to deliver to school!
We should build the future leaders and inculcate in them the skills needed for tomorrow!
About the author:
Prashant Muley is Principal, Podar International School ICSE, Aurangabad.
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