Principal's Remarks
As I have sat down to sort this week’s remarks, I have been interrupted so many times, I have lost count. You know how you start something and the world comes in, whether through phone call, message, email, pop ups on your screen, a child tugging on your arm, an alarm going off . . . and the list goes on. I have often reflected on what it was like for my grandfather as he went about his life and thought how different the world was then. The reality is that we live in a very different world and it will change even more and more quickly in the years to come. Preparing our children for this uncertain and changing world is no easy task. Providing anchor points in their life is incredibly important, as is preparing them for what is to come – a difficult tension to manage. Below is an article to help us guide our kids in this age of change and disruption. There is a free webinar that is available to our school families as well, if you are interested. I haven’t been able to preview the webinar so I am not able to comment or endorse, but, if the article is anything to go by, it will be a least thought provoking.
“We live in the age of disruption. The future your children will inherit will be very different than the world we live in now. A university degree, once a guarantee of a well-paid job, no longer ensures your child a career, let alone a steady income.
So how can we prepare children to thrive in a world where it’s estimated that over 20 per cent of today’s jobs won’t exist in just five year’s time? How do we prepare them for a work-life of multiple careers and job changes?
South African educator and author Nikki Bush believes that the future will belong to those who develop a broad range of personal capabilities rather than a narrow number of academic abilities. Bush has outlined five key personal factors that will help kids succeed in the future world of work. These are:
Creativity and innovation
With information being only a digital search away, knowledge is relatively easy to obtain in the digital age. The ability to think outside of the square and find new solutions to old problems will be one of the most highly valued skills in the new world of work.
Love of learning
In a world where people working into their seventies and beyond will become common place, a degree of qualification obtained in the early twenties won’t guarantee continued success. The future will require people to be in charge of their own learning and be willing to continually upskill. Continuous learners rather than those who close themselves off to new ideas and concepts will thrive in the future.
Resilience
Life doesn’t unfold in a straight line. It never has, but the future of work will have more twists and curves than ever before. Kids will need to be resilient and flexible enough to cope with rapid workplace change and lack of security, as well as be able to manage risk to earning a living.
Self knowledge
Personal knowledge of strengths, capabilities and talents has long been a skill, that we’ve neglected to develop in kids. When the future is fluid and work continually changing, self-knowledge will become a passport to happiness and success.
Teamwork
The ability for your child to work as part of a team both virtually and in the real world will be more important than ever in the future world of work. Even jobs that have an individual skill focus will require people to work cooperatively alongside each other.
Reassuringly, there is a great deal you can do as a parent to prepare your child to capitalise on the changing career and jobs landscape. Use Bush’s five personal factors for future success as a starting point as you ponder how to prepare your child to prosper in the age of disruptive change.
Related webinar
Our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can attend the below webinar ‘Future-proofing your child’ at no cost.
About
In this webinar Nikki Bush teaches parents what to expect and how to support their kids to thrive in a future world of work.
When
18 March 2020 8:00pm AEDT
To redeem
- Click this link: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-future-proofing-your-child
2. Click ‘Add to cart’
3. Click ‘View cart’
4. Enter the voucher code FUTURE and click ‘Apply Coupon’ Your discount of $37 will be applied.
5. Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
6. Fill in your account details. These details are used to login to your account and access your parenting material
7. Click ‘Place Order’
The voucher is valid until 18 June 2020.” (Grose, 2020)
Have a great week with your kids,
Mark B