I think it's really interesting that students are likely to change careers within a variety of fields, multiple times, once they enter the workforce. It's only fitting that the symbolic gold watch, earned after 50 years of loyal service, is a relic of a bygone era. Since students won't be staying in the same job, or even the same field for long, it's important that they have skills applicable to many tasks. We talked about, in our chat room discussion, the idea of right and wrong. When I went to school, you were either right or wrong. Gold star or red pen. No in between. Education has evolved since then, but it needs to evolve further. I offer up a scenario presented by Daniel Pink, in it he asks who would be the better bet for finding the GDP of Nigeria? A 12 year old girl in Alabama, or the head librarian of Cambridge University? In 1982, there's no doubt who you'd put your money on, but in 2017 the fight is much fairer. This means that students need to be information finders, and analyzers. Pumping them full of facts is useless, and is no longer germane to the educational experience. Showing them how to find and evaluate facts is more important.
For me as an educator this means I've got to be on top of my game, and mining new sources for rich up-to-date information I always have to be learning, thinking, and designing. I need to be learning new techniques and technology. I need to be thinking about how to incorporate these new pieces into my curriculum. And, I need to design lessons that are engaging and impact my students. As teachers we must not become lazy and complacent, in the words of the most interesting man in the world, we must always...
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