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FREW Consultants Group        
Monday, November 20 2017

Education for the Future

At a recent retired principal's luncheon, I listened to the guest presenter discuss the outlook of the economy and how schools need to prepare their students for that future.  In particular, the impact computerised production and artificial intelligence will have on work practices will be at the heart of this new revolution.  The claim was made that by 2050 only 10% of the population would be in employment.

The focus of the presentation was on how would we deliver the skills required for our students to participate in this new world of work?  His view was that we would need a range of skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and the usual assembly of abilities that signify the position that we just don't know.

Nonetheless, education systems have not been slow to consider the future and with regular announcements we are informed about what we should be teaching!  Recently this has included coding, and then we must continue to emphasize STEM, next week who knows maybe we need to concentrate on numeracy and literacy?  Recently the CSIRO presented a paper in the Conversation estimated that 40% of current jobs would be taken over by robots.  But they also announced that the most significant skill set needed in the future would be in communications and people skills.

There has always been a sense of doom when new technologies emerge, and in the past, the occupations lost to technology have been replaced by other jobs.  The difference this time is the computers have moved from the ‘production line’ and they now dominate many of the service industries.  Where a predictable environment exists AI will become the most efficient and cheapest choice for industry.  Even professions such as accountancy and the law are under enormous threat.  One frightening statistic that confirms this trend is that since 2000 only 0.5% of American workers are employed in industries that have emerged (The Economist June 2017).

While I was digesting the prediction that only 10% of the population would have work I could not help considering ‘what about the 90% unemployed’.  And further, I wondered about the wisdom of providing this expected economic/production focused curriculum to the 100% so that we get the 10%?

I make the following points:

  • If the employment level is going to be 10%, the unemployment level will be 90%
  • It will be very likely that the ‘best and brightest’ will gain that employment and these will in a sense ‘self-select’ for those positions
  • That leaves the vast majority with ‘nothing to do.'

John Maynard Keynes, the great economist, pointed out in 1933; that the focus on the economy and solving that problem is not addressing the long-term permanent problem of the human race and that is to live a purposeful life.  What he meant was the economy had become the purpose not the servant of society.  I fear that modern education has also become the servant of the economy and those who are surplus to requirement are discarded.  If you look at the unemployed of today, you see just how much we care about the surplus!

I have been working on my next book that focuses on the most damaged children, the ones who are most likely to be in this unemployed category, and in the process of doing this I have had to consider what kind of education I would like to develop.  At the heart of my deliberations is the aim of developing a sense that they can take their proper place in society.

I have come to the following four characteristics I believe underpin a fulfilling life and would be the underpinning tenets of the curriculum.  These are:

A Sense of Self – We all need to have a sense of worth, value, and importance.  This affirmation is not always 'a given' across the population, and in the event of massive unemployment, a positive sense of worth will be extremely hard to maintain especially if the only focus our curriculum is on preparing everyone for work!

The other component of a strong sense of self is how we relate to the community.  It is important that we feel positive about ourselves, but it is critical that we have the sense that our companions also value us.  These days I would contend the levels of unemployed youth and the social issues they face and create, are an indication of the future unless we prepare our children for their future reality.

Relatedness – As we are social beings we need to live in a society that we can contribute to and receive support.  This requires the skills to cooperate, to share and to support each other.  There will also be a challenge in regards to the sharing of resources, and so ethics will be required.  We won't survive with a competitive approach.

Aspirations – A sense of purpose is also vital for a healthy lifestyle.  We need something to get up for every morning.  For the vast majority, our vocation has been that purpose, and when our work matches our aspirations, we have a fulfilling life.   If we assume that there are no work prospects we need to develop a sense of purpose in our students.

Autonomy – Finally we need to have a sense of control over our lives.  This sense of independence allows us to participate in society from a position of individuality so important for our ability to participate in the democratic process.   I would contend that the current worldwide disenchantment with the political process is that individuals have no real sense of control or meaningful contribution.

I remember a past leader of the High-Performance Unit who claimed that if the solution is not simple, it is wrong.  This statement is an overused platitude I find most disturbing.  I have always thought that simple answers are appealing to simple minds.

The 'simple' answer our current education leaders make is to react to the latest ‘idea,'.   This results our leaders lurching from one ‘new idea' to the next and always to prepare the students for work.  I return to the point Keynes made; this complete focus on the economy blinds us to any alternate view.  What if we just enjoyed and shared the wealth AI provided, what if we could pursue more humanistic endeavours, what if we became satisfied with what we have?

John Lennon ‘imagined a world’ that could be achievable with a change in focus.

Maybe we will have to let go of competition and growth and ‘live our lives in peace’!

Posted by: AT 11:07 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
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John R Frew
Marcia J Vallance


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The principals of the company have had long careers in education with a combined total of eighty-one years service.  After starting as mainstream teachers they both moved into careers in providing support for students with severe behaviours.

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