Thursday, April 28, 2022


My last post, sixteen months ago, focused on fear, the fear around me, and yes, the fear inside me. Twenty-four-seven updates from Social Media and cable news on the pandemic, political discourse, severe weather events, and violence was overwhelming. For me, I had to pause, reflect, and gain perspective.  Taking time to mentally separate from the discourse, breath, and regain my balance again, has provided an opportunity to refocus and get a glimpse of the challenges and opportunities that are ahead. This fills me with hope as new Growth Rings are added to our tree of life. 

New Realities, and New Normal

Spring 2022

Twenty-two years into the 21st century, mankind is experiencing a deep dynamic time of transition and change.  20th century system thinking, beliefs, traditions, and institutions are being challenged.

 

Some would say that change has been gradual and taken too much time to arrive. Others, who are clinging to the what was, are anxious, fearful, and resistant to embracing new.  The reality of the COVID pandemic, global warming, emergence of technology, and armed conflict is stressing relationships, governments, alliances, and legacy institutions at both the micro and macro level.  It seems mankind is reflecting on the worth, validity and relevance of what was, and is conflicted with what is still valuable. There is a push and pull of letting go of what was, accepting what is, and how to go forward. All this is happening simultaneously at an accelerating speed. New realities, and new normals are emerging.

 

Our “printing press moment in the history of mankind”

The 21st century digital – information age is part of the next “Growth Ring” in the evolution of mankind. From written language first chiseled in stone, then on parchment paper, to the movable type of the printing press, to radio, television, and now digital devices connect to the internet, the ability today to exchange and share thinking globally, in real time, has the potential to bring mankind together in never imagined connections. An internet connected, digital device provides access to unlimited knowledge and moves individuals from their limited physical location, to a new global community. This is our printing press moment in the history of mankind.  

 

New Mental Models

Are our lives better?


From the wheel, lever, fire and domesticating animals to computers, 3D modeling, and artificial intelligence, labor-saving innovations have empowered and reshaped the quality of life and reframed each generation’s societal mental models.  The emergence and adoption of these labor-saving tools redefined mankind’s sole purpose from physical survival, to having “free time”.  Paradoxically, many in the United States struggle with how to use this “free time”. Filling up the “free time” with “past time” activities has taken on new meaning.

 

With each generation, the mental models of work, family, relationships, and community evolved. In the United States, the primary transmission to youth of these mental models was once done via the family.  With both parents working, and single parent families, by default, schools and institutional childcare have assumed this responsibility.  Gaps between parents’ desires for their children, and assumptions by educators, is causing friction and heated discourse. The once rock-solid trust between home and school, now has cracks.

 

The Next Chapter for Mankind: What are we to become?   

It seems mankind is conflicted between curiosity and wonder; order, and predictability; those who question, explore new, and seek understandings, with those who are comfortable with following rules, conforming and are risk avoidance.


New ideas and thoughts that challenge established traditions, norms, and stereotypes, for some, trigger excitement and positive energy, for others, fear, and loss. Those who resist change, cling to the status quo, and stop growing, die. Those who can see new emerging norms, adapt, and embrace them; evolve, and lead others forward.

 


“Again and again in history some special people wake up.

They have no ground in the crowd and move to broader, deeper laws.

They carry strange customs with them and demand room for bold and audacious actions

The future speaks ruthlessly through them. They change the world.”

Author: Rainer Maria Rilke



Preparing and empowering mankind’s next pathfinders to be imaginative, collaborative, creative, and innovative; to be able access, discern and apply knowledge across disciplines for solutions to real world predictable and unpredictable situations, cannot be left to chance. It requires rethinking current public school learning practices and redesigning them around emerging system thinking and societal needs.

 

No one person or institution has the answers. Globally connecting and sharing through “grassroots” conversations on the “what’s next” has the potential to stimulant forward momentum for change. These conversations need to be ongoing and seek to be inclusive of all perspectives. The desired outcome to move from talking and speculation, to action and doing. The goal to create and facilitate a synchronicity of thought and action for the transformation of teaching and learning. Specifically, but not limited to:

  • Overarchingly, to discover, design and align processes, protocols and structures that empower students with the ability to learn, unlearn and uplearn, as context and situations evolve.
  • To decern the forces impacting public schools and define the purpose of learning in the 21st century.
  • To identify what mankind needs kids to know and be able to do, how do we know they know it, and what do if they don’t.
  • To decern how to individualize, differentiate, and personalize learning that aligns learner’s passions and abilities to professions and life purpose.

Creating a voice, gathering the tribe.

I was asked recently what I planned to do with the next third of my life. That is a very good question. For over 40 years, my professional life was that of education, teaching and learning in the public schools. Now retired, and outside the “forrest” of education, I can now see the “trees”.


My calling now is to share, connect, and collaborate with others to collectively explore, define and discover what learning needs to become and what structures are needed to support it. 


This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, to contribute to the next Growth Ring in the tree of life.   All are invited to participate and share your comments, perspectives, expereinces and observations. They will be appreciated and valued. I am excited with the amazing journey ahead.