Schools and the Future of Work

Education Week recently released a multi-part special report on the future of work that shares sobering stories on many things SHP has long-been advocating: the need for school systems designed to grow and nurture lifelong learners, the need for workplaces to adapt to a culture and office space that promotes learning and training on the job, and the need for all of us to re-think what learning looks like in a culture undergoing rapid technological advancement.

In one article within the series (“Learning How to Learn Could Be a Student’s Most Valuable Skill”), an assistant professor at a university in Missouri illustrates just how long the road to building lifelong learners can be. In her experiences, she shares in the article, she hasn’t encountered a single person who has studied outside of a classroom environment.  She hopes to change this with her program for college freshmen aimed at fostering interest-based and lifelong learning.

The future is coming, and the changes to the job market are coming along with it. If tech giants like Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right, even today’s sixth graders (who will hit prime working years in 2030) will have to navigate a job market where automation and artificial intelligence has eliminated many jobs, and redefined many others.

It’s an interesting, informative and thought-provoking 13-part series well worth reading.

Read the source article at edweek.org