According to a recent World Economic Forum report, 65% of children ages 5 to 12 will enter a job that does not yet exist. The fastest growing job sector is the ‘Gig Economy’, whereby people are not employed in the traditional sense, but instead sell their skills on an open market. Some estimates indicate that around by 2020, 40% of all jobs will be in the Gig Economy.
So, what are the skills, attributes and values our children need to possess for the realities of this inevitable future?
One thing is clear, the current educational model, designed to meet the needs of a society that no longer exists, is no longer fit for purpose.
In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully
equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. – Eric Hoffer
The British International School of Houston (BISH) has just opened a world-class, state-of-the-art campus in Katy, Texas. What is different and exciting is that the entire concept for this school has been built with these questions in mind.
Put simply, to prepare students to do well at external exams is important, but on its own it is no longer enough. Equally, to prepare students for their future is important, but without great exam results, it is not enough. The real challenge for the best schools is to be able to do both. This is the challenge BISH identified when designing its new facility.
While searching for solutions, where better to then Harvard University? David Perkins, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, talks about the idea of ‘beyond’.
For BISH, this meant:
Beyond basic skills – 21st century skills, concepts, values, dispositions
Beyond traditional disciplines – rethought, hybrid, new disciplines
Beyond discrete understandings – interdisciplinary, real-life understandings
Beyond the class – local, national, global perspectives
Beyond content – big ideas, using the content as a lens to think about the real-world
Beyond prescribed content – personalised, choice, relevant to each individual
The school knows it must uphold and continually improve its great success with external exams since they provide the pathway to further educational opportunities. And at the same time, they recognize they must prepare students with the skills, attributes and concepts that equip them for a fast-changing, globally connected, technology-rich future.
To enhance these objectives, BISH is collaborating with leading organizations to allow their students access to the best thinking in the world. Students get to work directly with The Juilliard School of Performing Arts, MIT, First Lego League, Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute, and UNICEF. These unique collaborations place students into real-world environments within performing arts, design thinking, entrepreneurial innovation, robotics, service learning and much more.
This is the true essence of the BISH. Yes, it enjoys some of the very best iGCSE and IB results in the world, but more importantly, its students are globally engaged and purposefully motivated. In fact, visit BISH and see for yourself. It truly feels like the students own their own learning.
And if learners will inherit the earth, then I believe that the Gig Economy will be led by learners.
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