At a recent Koa Academy & Fully Alive webinar for parents, Koa Academy Principal, Mark Anderson took a deep-dive into what schools need to be doing now to prepare our kids for a future of work that is ever-changing and deeply uncertain. He says, “As parents and grandparents, we were schooled in times when the world of work changed gradually and mostly, predictably. It’s a different, rapid-paced, and uncertain world for our current digital natives, who may in a few years’ time find themselves job-seeking or job creating in the metaverse. This very different future of work demands different skills and qualities, and schools today need to be adaptive in helping them develop the characteristics and having youthful experiences that will set them up for fulfilment and success in their adult lives.”
Fully Alive founder, Meg Bruyns was the guest co-presenter at the webinar, and she works regularly with teens and parents to support the development of personal skills that help each of us get what we need and want from life. Meg says, “Having purpose and clarity around our strengths, interests and passions is a vital roadmap, and school education can play an important role in fostering this in individual children. Different skills have come to the fore in the digital age, such as reflective thinking and critical thinking. Employers have very different needs from today’s employees – and young people have very different expectations and demands of work.”
Once regarded as ‘soft’ skills which were not necessary but nice to have, the capabilities to solve problems and create solutions, to communicate, collaborate and work as a team now feature at the top of the lists of essential 21st Century skills. Mark says, “For businesses, the abilities to be flexible and agile are superseding characteristics such rule-following and acquiescence. So, the question is how do schools provide environments where children have varied opportunities to develop these important competencies?”
To find out about some of the practical ways that Koa Academy has implemented to enable kids to develop skills for the unknowable future watch the Koa Academy and Fully Alive Future of Work webinar here
- How South African online schools prepare learners for university - November 14, 2024
- KOA ACADEMY CELEBRATES WORLD CHAMPION ROBOTICS TEAM PLAYER - June 13, 2024
- NEURODIVERSITY IN THE ONLINE CLASSROOM - May 28, 2024
Koa Academy looks to be a wonderful place to start your child’s journey to a beautiful future ahead. I’m excited to see all they are able to implement and grow!
I listened to the webinar and thought that this topic is interesting. I hope Koa Academy continues to have these webinars.