Skills for the 21st Century

There is no doubt the world is a different place now to when we were children and that different skills are needed to negotiate it. Consider the sorts of things that a child starting school now takes for granted that were undreamed of when I started school in 1966 (the list is enormous!).

Knowledge is being generated at such a pace that it is no longer possible to learn ‘everything’, nor is it possible to memorise the answers to life’s myriad of questions. Our children will grow up into a world that despite our life experiences, even we can’t imagine. They will require skills we are not yet aware of to solve problems that do not yet exist.
Change is inescapable but it also adds new dimensions to life.

How can we prepare our children for the world they will grow into?

One useful tool is the creative thinking process which provides us with tools for managing change. Building confidence in the ability to generate many and varied possibilities to paradoxes, challenges or concerns and then searching for meaningful connections between them is a way to empower kids (and adults) and build their confidence to manage change effectively.

This processes of generative thinking followed by focussing thinking work in harmony. They are the opposite sides of the same coin. Both are important, too much creative (generative) thinking can leave us drowning in divergence, with no path forward. Without it, we may not look widely enough or consider unique or original possibilities. The evaluative (focussing) thinking lets us look for patterns and underlying connections and to evaluate by criteria relevant to the problem we are trying to address.

A ‘safe’ climate is important for creativity, after all idea generation requires an element of risk taking. Deferring judgement is also critical to the flow of ideas. It is worth keeping in mind that praise is also a judgement. The challenge perhaps for our brightest students is that they may feel pressured to have the ‘right’ answer. Opportunities to come up with more than one solution or idea and to see adults talk through the process they use in decision making can be helpful.

If we are truly looking for solutions, we would also benefit from encouraging novel ideas but then cautiously sticking to more familiar and ‘safe’ ideas when we focus our thinking. Novel ideas are rarely born fully fledged and often need more development. Often they look ambitious or unlikely initially.

Of course, there is no one right way to the future and there are many opinions about which skills are most important. The World Future Society have a slightly different view.

‘The single most critical skill for the 21st Century

In this era of accelerating change, knowledge is no longer the key to a prosperous life. Foresight is the critical skill. Knowledge quickly goes out of date, but foresight enables you to navigate change, make good decisions and take action now to create a better future’