Children of the Future!
Children of the Future!
Every generation is unique yet similar in many aspects. We PARENTS are a living testimony of the missing link between our parents and our children. We often tend to be the filter, guardians of the value system that has been instilled in us by our families/community and tend to become the torch bearers of educating and developing a generation that shall re- define the near or distant future. However, all our efforts, insights are based on our past experiences, our knowledge of the present and our limited imagination of how the future is going to manifest itself or in simple words: What the world will look like in the future times?
As EDUCATORS the challenge seems to be steeper. The real essence, pleasure and contentment of empowering a child through knowledge has lost its charm. We are too busy either in pleasing the community, constantly proving our credentials or spending the day at school in the fear of being questioned on the validity of content and context. We are hardly spending time on research or competency mapping of our children who are supposed to be the heroes of tomorrow. The focus on the child is amiss as we are gradually mutating from pure EDUCATORS to MULTI-TASKERS i.e. Jack of all Trades and Master of None.
21st century is a special phase in time. The speed of change is swift and is propelling towards higher velocity (ie speed with direction). 21st century learner is also unique and adaptive. From the time he/she is born to the time he/she becomes independent, the cycle of handholding has been reducing considerably. CHILDREN OF FUTURE as we call them are not just independent but express themselves vocally. They are born in families of parents (missing links) who are busy, over – protective, sensitive and tend to control via incentives or friendly freedom which is an outcome of filtration of disciplinary methods soft or sometimes firm which were applied on them when they were children. CHILDREN OF FUTURE engage with Educators who themselves are evolving. From adopting technology to balancing learning by doing these are exciting times for getting educated and empowered.
Experimental as it may sound the CHILDREN OF FUTURE are going to be next step in evolution. They shall not wait for classroom assessments rather they shall make their own virtual or real time platforms for receiving acknowledgement and acceptance instantaneously. The mode of learning shall be more collaborative, participative and shall require quick validation. Rather than focusing on just content the emphasis shall be on application of knowledge for problem solving. If we as institutions and individuals start putting our kids in problem solving situations starting with solving context based puzzles to complex real world issues then we shall evolve with them as FACILITATORS or pure EDUCATORS.
The present has already moved from CLICK to TOUCH and now is moving to VOICE RECOGNITION and more. Our children are born in an era flooded with technological gadgets that shall become an integral part their lives, but interestingly the challenge is to make our children understand the technology behind the gadget and ensure that irrelevant fascination is lost at an early age and they look at the tech gadgets just as another tool to enhance efficiency. CHILDREN OF FUTURE are also going to be super sensitive provided they are rooted firmly in the local cultures and take pride in the same. They shall be more accepting, comforting, humble, and respectful provided we make world peace as an integral part of their upbringing. The future in majority is going to be output and outcome based. Smart efforts, self-restraint shall be required to deal with the challenges that the future holds for our children.
At present we parents (missing links) and educators need to get out of the short term targets of degrees, diplomas and percentages. The focus has to be on application. Institution’s need to move to real learning not just engagement for few hours. The doors of libraries, knowledge centers, and creativity centers need to open beyond school hours, platforms for discussions, deliberations, and ideations need to be explored again and again. Scope for making mistakes and failures needs to be incorporated in the curriculums.
The exposure today is tremendous, the challenge for all the adults is of building right character, healthy perspective and unbiased mindset in our children. The idea of doing well for oneself and in the process enabling others to do well today shall lay the foundation for making our children the real CHILDREN OF FUTURE.
