The Future of Education
Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to
those who prepare for it today
(Malcolm X)
Young learners are the future and as Malcolm X said in his famous quote, with education, people can be prepared while creating opportunities for themselves. Our opportunity as educators is to set learners up for success so that they are future-ready with the knowledge and skills that will serve them today as well as for tomorrow.
In the early foundational years, learners need concentrated skill focus in reading, writing, math, comprehension, and critical thinking which will serve as the strong base from which all other learning flows. Balanced with this concentrated skill focus, there can be much needed room for personalized learning extensions as well as real world learning. With so much digital saturation and overexposure to technology, young learners benefit from engaging in green space and the real world while also integrating learning about the innovations and careers of the future so that they can connect the why of learning while seeing their role in the future as environmental experts, digital citizens, multinational project managers, problem solvers in sustainability issues and more. The future requires highly skilled technical knowledge and by having a strong foundation, young learners will be future-ready.
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Such bold initiatives cannot be met within traditional generalist models of education because students need to engage in pathways of learning with structured cohorts, flexible exploration, and self-paced mastery so they can have concentrated skill focus as well as extension activities according to the strengths of their learning styles. This approach fits within a differentiated learning community model where students are engaged in their learning and teachers are able to concentrate on teaching instead of managing focus or even behavioral issues.
As Educators we can help young learners to ...
Building the Future
Society is in the midst of a digital age revolution so that the landscape of jobs, innovation, and opportunity will drastically change in the span of people's lifetimes. A critical part of preparing today's learners for tomorrow's future opportunities is to provide education at the elementary, high school, and post secondary levels that is responsive to learner's needs by helping learners to be future-ready.
Furthermore, society is in a transition around AI automation so that many of the jobs previously depended upon are now automated, absorbed into systems, or streamlined. Therefore, workers will need the skills for HI opportunities. HI (Human Interface) are the jobs which require human to human interaction, service delivery, and oversight. The competition for HI opportunities in a globally connected world will increase as learners must take initiative over the directions of their futures, develop strong foundational knowledge, and set themselves up for success, which starts at the earlier levels all the way up through post secondary.
Education must evolve to meet the demands of the future.
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Responsive Learning
With geopolitical pressures, rapid innovation, climate change initiatives, population movement, and more, opportunities within current and future job markets will emerge in directions never previously anticipated. Service delivery and innovation is accelerating, so that HI (Human Interface) oversight over technology, AI- integrated service delivery, leadership and entrepreneurialism will result in specialized areas of training while becoming more competitive at the same time. Responsive learning includes the ability for elementary, high school, and post secondary schools to meet the needs of learners while preparing them for the future of opportunities that will require initiative, skill, critical thinking, and evolving areas of technical knowledge.
Opportunities will not just come to people, as individuals must build the confidence and knowledge to position themselves successfully to meet such opportunities!
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Soft Skills Training Center is a resource website to help educators from elementary through to advanced post secondary acquire the skills to adapt service delivery and programming to prepare learners for the future.
Dr. Catherine Patterson-Sterling is an educator of 20+ years with diverse experience in all levels of elementary, high school, and post secondary education as a teacher and leader. With extensive experience in research and counselling, she understands the impact of the digital information age, digital saturation impacting focus on learners at all levels, and the need for education to move from generalist approaches to setting learners up with differentiated learning community opportunities to rapidly scale in learning to meet the demands of the future.
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As Educators We Can Help...
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Prepare Students for High Demand Careers in Security Surveillance, Drone Operations, & other Geopolitical Priority Areas
Prepare Working Learners for Exciting New Careers as Front Line Workers in Mental Health, Community Health & Education
