Kids for Tomorrow: Perspective 2030

Perspective:

There is an important message which was given by Khalifa Hazrat Ali (R) thousands of year’s back, “You cannot raise your children the way your parents raised you. Because your parents raised you for a world that no longer exist.”  It means the education system changes as per the time demand and we have to consider the changing pattern of the time.

With the pace of time, we experience different social, economic, environmental changes. The job market demands different skills, the technological up-gradation also requires different skills set from us. We cannot expect to deal with this situation with the same emotional intelligence that we had previously. We need a different mindset. The education needs to be upgraded at the same pace so that it enhances them with the competencies, sense, values, attitudes of that time.

To be more specific, today’s kids will lead the future society.

• They will lead the society which we haven’t seen yet.
• They will deal with the problem that we haven’t known yet,
• They will run the technology which is yet to come,
• They will carry the values which are not yet in practice,
• And they will face the challenges which are completely unknown to us. But we have to develop them for that time.

How?

We have to research on Future Time, probable changes in technology, values, skills, and change in the job market, competencies and desired attitudes, actions, and values that will require from kids. So before we sketch the plan, we need little research on the changing pattern. This concept note focused on those future sections:

Time is impending and the change is inevitable. Children entering school in 2019 will be young adults in 2030. So they will face the challenges which are unknown/unseen/unpredictable to us. But we have to prepare them for the unknown, unseen and unpredictable future. To face the employment challenge, today’s children have to be skilled in a few factors:

• They must be habituated to ask/generate quality questions
• They must understand complex communication
• They must be emotionally and socially intelligent
• They must innovate, know innovation rather follow the invention of others
• They should know to solve problems based on their location and culture
• They must have the analytical ability, think deeper and solution-focused

Let’s now elaborately discuss on the above points”

1. Ability to Ask Question: Question helps to make our understanding clear. It helps to express oneself, reduce confusion and give clear thought on any particular question. Asking question is a good manner in which kids learn during their childhood. As they grow they lost this habit for a few families, social and behavioural factors.  A supporting environment can help the kids to gain these attitudes.
2. Complex Communication: As technology develops and enriching our lifestyle, we can expect our kids will have complex business and family environments. Their work patterns will be changed and focus will be extended. Previously we focused only on locally, but now we focus everything globally. So considering this fact, we can predict complex communication systems for our kids. We should prepare our kids for the complex communication situation.
3. Be Innovator rather user: We need to prepare our kids so that they can innovate. Because it is already a demand for the time and gradually the expectation will go higher. Kids will invent solution/systems. In the fast competitive world, we cannot expect any kid who may not be an innovator. This innovation should be in their thought and in their action. Without innovative mind, it will be difficult to survive in the future world. We should help kids to develop this innovative mind and action.
4. Kids should know to solve problems based on their location and culture: Every problem may not have a universal solution. Time, Place, Culture brings a different solution for different problems. Our effort will be to teach the kids to become a solution provider, not the problem identifier.
5. Kids must have the analytical ability, think deeper and solution-focused: It will be the prime focus of the time. Kids must have an analytical mind. They must have the power to see the unseen, understand the critical point, bring easy solution of a critical problem. We cannot expect a kid to develop this virtue in a day. We have to nurture them. Play with their mind and brain so that they become habituated with a certain situation. Our effort will be to nurture this quality.
6. Our Approach in Developing the Kids: Expertise in any particular area may not be a good point for a future time. Already peoples are loving multi-tasking ability. So our kids will be at a point to have different capability to prove themselves. We will nurture them to become STEM Expert.

Concluding Statement

We are now educating our kids for the unseen future. To ensure that they are prepared to take the challenges of future time, we have to take initiative now. We need to re-design/upgrade our education systems appropriately. We need to bring it in our agenda to find the right solution.

K M Hasan Ripon

I have experience of working in small and large teams of different profiles: young people, students, adults, educators, volunteers, corporate leaders, marginalized rural men and women for entrepreneurship development, institutional managers, sometimes mixed into one group. In my professional network I am very much known as the enthusiastic and dynamic Trainers, speaker and inspirational career development coach on a wide variety of topics related to ICT, Entrepreneurship and employability Skills development training programs. During the last 17+ years I was engaged in Human Resource Research and Development in various professional organizations. As a consultant and TAFE, Australia Certified Master Trainer of Entrepreneurship Development & Competency-Based training, I have conducted many national and international Research-based works, training and workshops for national, NGO’s and multinational organizations and Institutions.

See author's posts