Education for the Future Developing 21st Century Skills
This year, Middle School has introduced four new subjects with the foresight of enriching the curriculum: STEM, Digital Citizenship, Drama, and Creative Design Solutions. Mr Troy Stanley, Head of Middle School, and Deputy Head of Middle School, Mr Scott Wyatt, share their insights into why education needs to embrace non-traditional subjects, be innovative and forward-thinking, and look to equip students with skills necessary for the future. What are the skills required for the future of work? If you list skills in IT, learning, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, you are aligned with the respondents to a 2018 Deloitte survey researching the anticipated skills necessary for work in the 21st Century. It’s fair to say that these skills have always been important, but the rise in accessibility of content on the internet and automation in the workplace has placed a dire need on ‘human’ or ‘soft skills’ that simply cannot be replaced by robots, computers, and AI. 20
Discussion on this topic has waged for the past decade or more, however, the advancements forced on us over the past two years has accelerated the need for these skills at breakneck speed – the world is moving fast. The future of learning, work, truth, relationships, democracy, health, and the planet are in our hands, and preparing our students to ensure they thrive in making our world a better place through the application of their collective areas of strength, is our responsibility as teachers and parents.
