Can schools help groom every child as a changemaker?
Our world has changed profoundly over the years. Historic changes in technology and globalization have transformed traditional power structures in the world, opening the way for millions to participate in society in a way that they could not before. And change is accelerating. The world of repetition—of mastering a task or trade and doing it over and over— is being replaced by one of rapid change. New rules, new openness, and new connectivity require different sets of skills just to keep up, let alone thrive.
Also, while we do not know what tomorrow’s problems are going to be, we know there will be many, and we know we will need a new generation equipped with the skills to deal with those problems. A world of rapid change is a complex landscape to navigate. In the past, we had hierarchies in our societies and institutions that—for better or worse—kept the world organized. Today we live in a more decentralized world. Just knowledge is no longer enough. We all must be creative, flexible, and empathic problem-solvers, able to collaborate, create, and act constructively in ambiguous environments.
GAPS IN SCHOOL EDUCATION
The extent to which we develop our worldviews and skills -the extent to which we become empowered - is determined by the experiences we have throughout childhood and adolescence - the environments we spend time in, the people we spend time with, the things we sense, feel, think and do. Yet only a handful of our country’s children are consistently provided with creative learning environments and opportunities necessary to help them develop some critical skills. There is a huge need to change this pattern. But nurturing these critical skills is rarely the focus of our attention when we are working with young people or otherwise influencing their experience, despite being fundamental to employment, personal wellbeing, economic and social development, to environmental sustainability, and to our collective quality of life.
There is a dire need to catalyze a change that will lead to transforming how most children grow up: in an enabling environment that ensures they develop the essential skills of being a Changemaker: empathy, team work, collaborative leadership, and creative problem solving.
MINDSET CHALLENGES
Constant feedback from students, educators and experts, outline the following key issues as the primary obstacles to address this gap:
· The Changemaker skills are perceived merely as a value or character trait, and instilling value is not considered directly useful for career or future of child.
· Today’s high-pressure environment leads parents and educators to feel overwhelmed, and without the right skills themselves, they default to what they know, often applying the principles of education of their times.
· Our incentive systems and measures of success discourage changemaker skills. Education policy reflects those systems, emphasizing on only test scores over other measures of personal development and success.
“EVERY CHILD AS A CHANGEMAKER”
We already see the world’s leading companies clamoring for employees who are laced with changemaker skills. It is obvious that education needs to get close to providing real-life experiences as that would have the biggest impact on the future of children. The new age schools, in aspiration and practice, will develop all children as active contributors rather than passive recipients. They will have high standards of excellence for stu- dents, teachers and staff alike. And they will make the development of changemaker skills a priority in their curricula, culture, and systems.
To create a new norm, developing changemaker skills must move beyond the realm of a value that some parents, schools, programs, institutions choose to advance. Learning these skills cannot be merely an accident of the family or community one was born into or the school or summer camp one attends. It must permeate the educational infrastructure. New education models need to be introduced where these skills belong to learning agendas for development and success of our children. This change needs to start with a network of individuals and institutions that share a vision of a different world and drive that vision forward. For change to take root in school education, it is not enough to have effective programs and innovations alone. The learning environments themselves must change, and that change can only be driven by those at the centre of it. Each School needs to have a committed Change Team inside—composed of teachers, parents, students and/or staff.
The tipping point in transforming childhood would be when a critical percentage of society starts to understand that children must develop as changemakers, and as a consequence, the demand for relevant systems and opportunities starts accelerating exponentially, in turn catalysing the necessary changes in the field to meet that demand.
Every child, in an enabling school environment, has the potential to be a changemaker. Let’s all envision a society where everyone can contribute to solving societal problems and shaping society for the good for all.
eVery ChiLD, iF nurTureD in An enABLing sChooL enVironMenT, hAs The poTenTiAL To Be A ChAngeMAKer
The author is director, Youth Venture, Ashoka Innovators