What do you make of this:
"Children entering school in 2018 will need to abandon the notion that resources are limitless and are there to be exploited; they will need to value common prosperity, sustainability and well-being. They will need to be responsible and empowered, placing collaboration above division, and sustainability above short-term gain."
This is from the OEDC's latest missive on the future of education and skills c/o the irrepressible Andreas Schleicher, who has amassed a busload of the great 'n' good of globalisation to help him.
What struck me about the passage (above) is that children entering school in 2018 (that is, 4 year-olds where I live) won't need to abandon any of these notions about resources as they don't have them in the first place (except, perhaps in super-progressive households operating on dogmatic sustainability principles; the nearest to me will likely be in Bristol's Stokes Croft). A more pertinent instruction, perhaps, would relate to teachers rather than learners, or perhaps to society as a whole which is stuffed full of people who, whilst they may not think that resources are limitless and are there to be exploited, certainly act as if they are. As such, it's hard to know where change will start.
I have to say that I don’t much like OECD’s careless way of writing about such matters. Take this:
"The future is uncertain and we cannot predict it. The children entering education in 2018 will be young adults in 2030. … Schools can prepare [children] for jobs that have not yet been created, for technologies that have not yet been invented, to solve problems that have not yet been anticipated. ...”
As it stands, I’d say that the last sentence is nonsense although I’d obviously go along with: "Schools can help prepare …” or “Schools have a role in helping prepare …”
The next sentence is this:
" To navigate through such uncertainty, students will need to develop curiosity, imagination, resilience and self regulation; they will need to respect and appreciate the ideas, perspectives and values of others; and they will need to cope with failure and rejection, and to move forward in the face of adversity.”
And it’s obvious that all this continues long after children have left school. Although I’m now well beyond schooling, I like to think that, on a good day, I’m still doing this.
I had to laugh when I got to this:
"The OECD Education 2030 contributes to the UN 2030 Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs), aiming to ensure the sustainability of people, profit, planet and peace, through partnership."
Far too many Ps, Andreas, and you will surely have lost the potently, pious, progressive, part of your audience with that "profit".
I also confess not to liking: "quality learning time", " future-ready education for all", and "future-ready students". This has all the hallmarks of writing by cliché committee.
Expect more on all this.
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