Last week the “principal brag book” arrived
on my desk. It’s a happy coffee break each year for a few moments when I get to
review every student on each page, enjoying the unique pictures. Big grins,
quirky expressions, and a few smirks made me smile as I enjoyed their unique
personality. Our children are precious in our sight, and are dearly loved by
the Lord. While we may want to pace them in a holding pattern so they don’t
grow older they are steadily moving toward being independent adults.
Surely future tradespeople, service providers, lawyers,
entrepreneurs, therapists, pastoral care workers, statisticians, mayors, and a
thousand other possibilities are present in our classrooms today. We know and
trust that God has a specific role and task for them as part of his Kingdom.
The future for the students pictured in my
album is different than my own, and that of my parents, and many past generations. The World Economic Forum has named the most desired skills for
employment in 2020. They are:
- Complex Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Creativity
- People Management
- Coordinating with Others
- Emotional Intelligence
- Judgement and Decision Making
- Service Orientation
- Negotiation
- Cognitive Flexibility
I see the first steps of the formation of
many of these capacities in our LCES classrooms, starting already in
kindergarten with the ways that students are given different ways to explore
and learn. I notice students learning about the process and themselves as much
as they learn about the “right answer”. I recognize students and their own
inquiry shaping how they can solve problems they observe. A teacher as lead
learner is a powerful means to increase a student’s readiness to tackle these
future ways of working.
How is your child’s world different than
yours at his/her age? It is an interesting question to consider.
SJ
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