Teaching in the World of Tomorrow, Today

Note: The very cool video that goes at the bottom of this post may not be working. It shows up on my work computer, but not on my home computer. Let me know if you can watch it.


One of the things that is hard to hear as a teacher is "When I was in school..." I think often education is something that everyone experienced for themselves and so they have an opinion or impression of how it should go, without a true understanding of the nature of teaching and education, either in practice or pedagogy. I don't think people often berate their CPAs or attorneys or doctors about how to do their jobs better in the same way I often hear people talk about teachers. I think with the other professions there is an acknowledgement of the skill needed to do that particular job well. In teaching, I still often hear how it's not that hard, how teachers get breaks all the time during the day, how we're always on vacation, how it can't be that hard to read books aloud and teach addition. And then, I exercise unusual restraint and only upbraid them verbally, rather than risk assault charges by opening up a can of you-know-what on them.

The point being (and the following video says it well) that what you or I did in school whenever we were there is pretty irrelevant now. We are in the business of preparing students for jobs and a world we cannot begin to fathom. The rate of change today is exponential and mind-numbing in its speed. The skills and knowledge that are needed to survive today, let alone in 2025 (when Ava will graduate from college) are likely not even known to us today. For a long time it was all about technology, which continues to be more and more integral to learning; but more and more, it's about the hows: how to think, how to learn, how to navigate a global community. This graph shows the skills for 21st century education. Notice that there is nothing about No Child Left Behind, mandatory testing, or actual curriculum. Nor is there any information about special services (special education, ESL) or programs for those kids who are falling through the cracks--breakfasts, afterschool care, social services...all those things that are an inherent part of education, more so in some communities than others.

I used to marvel at my grandmother, who was born before the Wright brothers flew their first plane and watched men walk on the moon--what an amazing change! Now, I realize that the change we are living with is difficult to comprehend on a global scale. It's both amazing and frightening!