Years ago, at a conference, I heard Alvin Toffler (author of Future Shock and The Third Wave) speak about education. His point is more relevant today than it was decades ago, before the first school shooting. His basic premise was that our school system was designed for manufacturing. We shove raw materials in at one end and expect a mostly uniform product to emerge from it. When he said it I thought, ya know, dude is right. (Though those were the days before, dude, too.) Our world today is even more complex and differentiated. Individuals and individualism is fundamental to identity. We have and make choices from the youngest ages. Our devices are a link to the larger world, even for children. Creativity, critical thinking, and choice are central to real success, personal and professional. This made me remember that years-ago talk.
#FutureShock #educationreform #criticalthinking #creativity #choices