“Those were the days…”
My friend,
we thought they'd never end.
We'd sing and dance, for ever and a day.
We'd live the life we choose,
we'd fight and never lose.
For we were young and sure to have our way.....".
Mary Hopkins, singer
Excuse the nostalgia. The past 10 weeks have been an opportunity like few others to better watch, interact with & understand my two children. You see, along with all the other remaining children in Victoria, my kids returned to school full time yesterday. Similar to the world outside, it's been a mixed bag of emotions and reactions in our home: excitement v apprehension, curiosity v boredom, confidence v uncertainty, calm v anxiety, anticipation v trepidation.
I'm going to miss them (ok, granted, I won't miss the squabbles & bickering).
YESTERDAY
The 1968 hit song "Those were the days" gives a glimpse into a past often viewed with affection. A longing for times gone by. For a time when (apparently) things were (supposedly) simpler. A time when (presumably) there was more of that scarce, precious non-renewable commodity: time.
Time to observe, absorb, reflect, assess, adapt and "go again".
Time which might now be referenced in terms of 'Before Corona' (BC) and 'After Corona' (AC).
In terms of the scale of sheer disruption, horror, desperation, loss, cost etc, the world has seen and lived through similarly challenging times. The BC era was undoubtedly also filled with volatility, conflict and change. For instance, how could we forget brutal historical periods such as the Crusades or religious cleansing? Or the sheer devastation of monumental calamities such as the Bubonic Plague? The raw injustice of slavery, heaven forbid? Spanish flu, hello?! Worse yet, the significant lasting impact of the Holocaust? Not to mention the countless other other unspeakable acts of genocide since ........ Could the economic and social devastation of the Great Depression really be so easily forgotten? Or the constant "one minute from midnight" trepidation throughout the MAD decades of the Cold War era?
Humankind has always shown resilience, an ability to survive and adapt in the face of adversity, that is hard to comprehend. Certainly, the start of the 21st century commenced much like the 20th Century finished: progress & peace contrasted by conflict & contests. However since the turn of the century, time appears to have accelerated, blurring from one tumultuous event to another. The first five months of 2020 alone have been unsettling and challenging enough, bringing the entire world to a screeching halt. A quick chronology paints a daunting picture. Consider for instance this non-exhaustive list of the past twenty years:
2000: Y2K fears. "Hung" US Presidential Election, Gore loses to Bush in controversial circumstances. Birth of reality TV. Here we go!
2001: September 11. Twin Towers. Al Qaeda. Taliban. US invades Afghanistan. US Guantanamo Bay detention centre established. Tampa affair. Australian Nauru detention centre established. Sign of changing paradigms.
2002: Saddam Hussein. War on Terrorism - "Coalition of the Willing" v "Axis of Evil". And so enters a new era of 'cold war'?
2003: Weapons of Mass Destruction. Invasion of Iraq & birth of asymmetrical warfare. UN IAEA inspectors ever find those WMDs?
2004: Boxing Day Tsunami, Bird-Flu outbreak. Nature fights back.
2005: London Bombings, Youtube, Arab Spring, Hurricane Katrina. That enough for you?!
2006: Saddam Hussein killed by US forces. Wikileaks. An Inconvenient Truth. Gulp.
2007: Apple iPhone, Facebook, Amazon go mainstream. Rudd07 campaign & rallying cry to meet climate change "the greatest moral challenge of our time" defeats John Howard's 11-year conservative stranglehold on Australian politics..... beginning more than a decade of political instability & turmoil in Australia. Sigh.
2008: Black Monday, Bloody Friday & unbridled corporate greed eventually led to the Global Financial Crisis. #Occupy movement. Barack Obama, first African American elected as President of U.S of A . Yes we can indeed. Full stop.
2009: More bombings, airline disasters, UN & ICC tribunals, continuing inertia at UNCCC
2010: Haiti earthquake, Obamacare, 'Combat operations' in Iraq over. Christmas island refugee boat disaster. Australian PM leadership spill sees Gillard Replace Rudd.
2011: US get their men - Gaddafi & Osama Bin Laden killed. Christchurch earthquake, Japanese Tsunami, Norwegian massacre by right wing nationalist ideologue. While in Australia, people movement dealt with by so called Malaysian solution
2012: Assad & Syria. Egyptian revolution. Australian Government launches Royal Commission into Child Abuse
2013: Boston Marathon bombing, Wikileaks, Pope Benedict XVI abdicates. Russian backed-Syrian chemicals,. Operation Sovereign Borders. Rudd's revenge - Labor leadership spill Mack II. Australia dumps Labor - Liberal Tony Abbott becomes PM. Contrasting ideologies in an age of polarisation has well and truly arrived!
2014: ISIS caliphate. Russia annexes Crimea. Ebola outbreak. Malaysian Airlines 370. South China Sea - again. Hong Kong protests. Things ramping up or what?
2015: Saudi Arabia - Yemen. Bataclan. Charlie Hebdo. Syria. South China Sea - repeat. ISIS again. European refugee crisis. Liberal leadership spill sees Malcolm Turnbull topple Tony Abbott as PM. Historical events ricochet off the tongue.
2016: Bastille Day, Nice. #Brexit, UK. Jo Cox, murdered British MP. New US President elected in D.J. Trump. Sniper, Dallas. Failed Turkish coup. Brazil impeaches President. South Korean's impeach their President too! Similarly turbulent and griping year.
2017: #Trump, #fakenews, and some more Trumpisms. Xi Jinping 'elevation'. Rohingya crisis. Yemen refugees. Venezuelan political crisis. Australia finally legislates same sex marriage and presents report findings into institutional child abuse. Accusations of foreign manipulation of US election, cyber-warfare.
2018: Trump again. #Metoo movement. Facebook privacy scandal breaks, North Korea again. Venezuela continues. Thai soccer team rescued. Liberal Leadership spill Mack II sees Morrison defeats Turnbull.
2019: Trump repeat. Impeachment. Hong Kong Protests - again. Boris & #Brexit! Amazon burns.
2020: Catastrophic bushfires, Pell acquittal, Coronavirus pandemic, global economic armageddon, social distancing, George Floyd #Blacklivesmatter, .
Clearly we are being pressed like rarely before. We are increasingly asked to "build the plane while flying it"!
Reminiscing on my kids' recent stumbling steps into the brave new world of remote online schooling provided time to process, reflect and (hopefully) reset. And so as I wondered at their future realities, I asked myself:
whether these truly were unprecedented times, and if so, the implications such a changing reality has for education and society more broadly?;
to what extent had this brave new #COVID19 world precipitated and exacerbated conflicting reactions around the globe?; and
how might we better tap into previous experiences and individual abilities to collectively up-skill in such a manner as to inform new strategies and solutions adapted for this time?
While our extraordinarily strange current times have accentuated fractures (perceived or real), it also now presents an opportunity to process reasons for this and, perhaps, navigate a way forward. The World Economic Forum has call this an opportunity for the "Great reset"
"As we enter a unique window of opportunity to shape the recovery, the Great Reset will offer insights to help inform all those determining the future state of global relations, the direction of national economies, the priorities of societies, the nature of business models and the management of a global commons. Drawing from the vision and vast expertise of the leaders engaged across the Forum’s communities, the Great Reset initiative has a set of dimensions to build a new social contract that honours the dignity of every human being."
IN-BETWIXT
"Change is painful, but pain is changeful"
Henry Musamo, Educator.
We live in a world of rapidly converging realities. This affords innumerable opportunities for innovation, personalisation, growth and change. Paradoxically, conformity, compliance and standardisation remain features of current social constructs. These contrasting tensions / priorities are further clouded by misinformation or fake news. Confusion around options and alternatives amplifies division and marginalisation. The individualisation of our society has seen a rise in isolation which in turn leads to greater ignorance and a lack of empathy for each other.
A nuanced acknowledgement of these difficult times lends itself to a deeper critique. Precedence is currently a prevailing narrative. Or, more to the point, the claim that these are "unprecedented times". The argument goes along the line that as disastrous and unsettling as historical events may appear, the sheer scale, pace and interconnectivity of current events supports an argument that these are challenging times in fundamentally different ways. There's the speed with which we lurch from one crisis to another, rarely giving a chance to draw breath. The lasting knock on effects of constantly having to adjust to ever changing "new norms" against which reference points are not easily come by. Social support structures struggling to keep up as family units breakdown and inter-generational dynamics change. Perhaps the problem stems from the sheer number of stakeholders now. Or the fact it feels like we are working more hours than ever before, are more qualified than ever before, yet have more debt, less free time and suffer more mental health issues than ever before. It feels like social constructs and compacts, norms, conventions, political ideologies and dichotomies, hierarchical delineations, relational dynamics are being upended in the face of all this turmoil. Fundamentally so. The relative impact of each event is amplified. Amplified to such an extent that effectively planning for, responding and adapting to perceptibly wicked problems appears....imperfect....implausible....&....well...impossible! The sheer number of contending factors, the volume of known or as yet unknown options, and the speed with which it all comes at us generates feelings of "unprecedented times". Addressing the question of precedence, in and of itself, is less relevant. The need for (or the validity of) this commentary is neither necessary, helpful or useful. Rather, an awareness and appreciation that any such assessment rarely lies in either extreme, in absolute terms, is telling. Reality lies more often than not nestled somewhere in the "grey zone"; somewhere middle. Certainly we should acknowledge that this oft messy, imperfect, in-congruent, non-linear, impermanent and fluid 'grey' world we live is different. Some things do feel unprecedentedly complex and complicated. But the emphasis needs to be firmly centred on the fact that such differences demand new ways of thinking. Demand a fundamental re-configuring of societal priorities. Particularly in terms of the evolution and change required from our educational model! Education is a touchstone because improved educational experiences are key in developing the skills need to navigate that "grey zone"; that gap referred to as the productive zone of disequilibrium. Parents, educators, leaders, social entrepreneurs, commentators, hell everyone, will need to become comfortable sitting with discomfort, stepping across the threshold into the unknown, into the space between that place referred to as liminality. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) becomes the common feature of this generation. It is the defacto status quo. Both author Thomas Friedman and alpinist Patrick Hollingworth lay out this world view with powerful descriptions born from different perspectives: the former from changes witnessed in our everyday lives while the latter looks at the changing context through the use of metaphors and analogies taken from outdoor physical pursuits. Successfully navigating this new reality will require agility & adaptability, the two mots-du-jour. Prominent futurist and future of work researcher Heather McGowan confirms this through a distillation of the importance of adaptation. Her research is not simply geared at an economic rationale. She makes a compelling and reasoned argument to rationalise why this upskilling will be needed from a social and personal wellbeing perspective.
Adaptive skills are essential in enabling people to flourish and thrive in the modern era. Variations in how we accept and experience this reality, and the impact of doing so, partially explains why today's reality is so complex and complicated. There are options in how we choose to accept the current reality. The option we choose will depend on our perspective. Our perspective is influenced by our dispositions, aptitudes and abilities. These inherent, natural and acquired traits, skills and characteristics are formed by our upbringing, educational opportunities, lived experiences, demographic, geography and so forth. These are important because they in turn shape our world view.
And world views determine lived realities.
An example of this playing out is of course the #coronavirus #pandemic. The advent of COVID19 has highlighted a critical moment. We find ourselves individually and collectively being challenged and fighting battles on multiple fronts. The immediate aftermath is easily recognisable (#lockdown, #socialdistancing, #economichibernation, #unemployment, #WFH #schoolclosures #remotelearning). The subsequent flow on implications are however more subtle and nuanced. Different outcomes are achieved depending on the perspectives adopted and the world views shaping alternate realities.
We could adopt the view that increased interconnection and interdependence affords innumerable opportunities for innovation, personalisation, growth and change. On the one hand, the advent of calendars suddenly wiped clear has meant a 'back to basics' re-investment on the importance of self, family, social connection and wellbeing within the overall priorities. Opportunities have been created to #pivot (2020 word of the year!), innovate, reassess priorities, re-imagine the status quo, reinvent ourselves and in some instances simplify our lives. Companies have adapted and responded to the challenge. Governments have achieved amazing outcomes in short periods of time. Communities have banded together and (in the developed world at least) children have suddenly found themselves once again co-habitating with a significant adult. Boardgames, puzzles and fun activities have re-emerged, #rainbowtrail and #weregoingonabearhunt were creative ways of entertaining younger kids, Anzac day driveway ceremonies and weekly clapping appreciation sessions for health workers became a feature as did plaza sing-a-longs in Europe and street newsletters in other parts of the world.
Or, contrarily, such emerging dynamics may be perceived as threats, cause us to bunker down, further embracing conformity, compliance and standardisation more than ever. Many will find themselves adrift, rudderless and with reference points that are becoming lost to the past. Expectations, aspirations, hectic daily routines and of course the sudden loss of once fundamentally interconnected professional, personal and social lives have exacerbated anxieties and loneliness. In a looping cycle, ever-present financial and relationship pressures are further fuelled and magnified by consumption patterns that run amok. A growing proportion of people subsequently feel cut off, disenfranchised, disempowered and marginalised. Powerless in the face of the exponential rise of change and incessant talk of "futures".They have been 'left behind' by globalisation. Unsettled by acronyms (yes, such as VUCA). By all this talk of innovation. An information overload, so readily available at our finger tips, leads to inertia. Talk turns to "us and them". Of building walls. Extreme times sadly are perfect breeding grounds to propagate discontent and fear. Fear entrenches division, intolerance, bigotry, racism and hatred. Jeremy Hiemans is a prominent Australian who initially co-founded Get-Up and Avaaz. He resides in the US where he has established social enterprises called Purpose and Shared Value Project. In the book New Power: How Power Works in our Hyper-Connected World co-authored with Tim Timms, Hiemans provides a detailed argument to explain how the established order as we have come to know is being usurped by something far more collective and organic. This leads to societal responses being more unpredictable and disruptive than previous. In Episode 1 of Season 2 of his "Seven Deadliest Sins" podcast series, Stephen Fry articulates a rather convincing, if not sad and somewhat crude (spoiler alert: language warning), argument that something is adrift. Amiss. We can't quite put our finger on it but it feels as if there is a 'disturbance in the force'.
Whether as a result of ever increasing budget cuts born from an ever more urgent sense of economic rationalism, or complacency, misguided idealism or all the above, current generations now appear under-prepared, under-resourced and under-skilled for the challenges that lie ahead. If rising rates of anxiety, obesity and unemployment are anything to go by, an increasing number of people are floundering to both keep up or even just get a grip. We need to learn from this. We must resist the temptation to look at issues in black and white terms. Binary thinking is not the solution for our time. At the risk of sounding overly Pollyanish, such challenges, such a fundamental shift in our 'normal' (if such a thing exists any longer), could yet turn out to be a positive. We now truly live in a world reflective of Einstein prophetic clarion call: “the thinking that created the problems we are facing will not generate the solutions we need”. The extent to which we successfully contend with uncertainty is largely dependent on investment in educational, innovation, cerativity alongside human and social capital.
PRESENTLY
From a broader perspective, we are witnessing the fracturing of alliances and social constructs in real time, often coinciding with the re-emergence of a dangerous zero sum game mentality of "one-upmanship". Succumbing to arguably myopic and simplistic perspectives has seen populist governments take power by pandering to the loudest voice in the room. The polarisation of political discourse, continuing geographic and demographic divisions and growing (much of which is more pronounced in countries other than Australia, for now) will not assist in addressing the wicked challenges. Alongside this is the fracturing geo-political paradigm and a gnawing disillusionment with the prevailing neo-liberal capitalist orthodoxy. Increasing gaps in distribution of wealth is driving inequality and inequity. The natural but inevitable rise and fall of civilisations coinciding with a current potential decline of capitalism. The fragility of financial markets and our exposure to unsustainable levels of debt. A paradox of progress exists in Western democracies which sees complacency and a lack of resilience born from continuous "progress" and surpluses of "success" which led to initial improved standards of living. Johannes Meier also argues that neo-liberalism has indeed reached it's expiration date. Protectionist and isolationist ideologies have justified and spur on increased spending on militarisation. Global alliances and contemporary geo-political fault lines are fracturing as countries retreat into themselves. The breaking down of trade barriers, increased travel, the influence of technology and cosmopolitanism has seen national borders become less defined. The emergence of the age of robots and AI has meant jobs are disappearing. Of the supposedly most developed countries, in the allegedly top western democracies, the leading three (France, UK, USA) share the ignominious distinction of top place for highest death rates of Covid-19. Some segments of society have subsequently become resentful of the status quo, of the establishment (or whatever term we want to give it) and are either opting out or disengaging by employing increasingly disruptive responses (right wing fascist movements, left wing Occupy movements and We are the 99%, WTO riots or similar anti-authoritarian protests such as Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement are just some that offhand come to mind). Meanwhile the plight of #refugees and #peoplemovement, currently 70 million people displaced around the world, continues. Of them, 25 million are refugees. That's a population the size of Australia. Stateless. Homeless. Lost between realities. All of whom, through no fault of their own, are in limbo with all the dashed hopes and dreams that such a purgatory entails. And looming above this all, arguably more pressing still, the existential crisis of our time: #Climatechange , that quintessentially wicked problem, temporarily relegated from the public consciousness.
This is now worth considering in the context of Australia today, where we are headed and what we can do about it.
It has now become a commonly referenced snigger that Australia has had a revolving door of Prime Ministers in the last 13 years. More PMs in that time than in the previous 40 years. We are already seeing extreme and minor parties take up more and more room on political platforms as marginalised groups seek to find a voice to express their outrage for the loss of a simpler life, "pre-2000". The majority become ever more beholden to a "silent" minority. To say this cannot be a positive evolution of our democracy is a misnomer. Lindsay Tanner warned of exactly this type of quandary in his book "Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy". Richard Flanagan gave a similar warning in his National Press Club address.
Prior to now Australia has found itself mostly in an enviable position, relatively speaking. To date we have faced and overcome significant economic headwinds. Partly assisted by our relative geographical isolation as an island-state, huge revenue flows from a once in a generation resources boom that has lasted 29 years has enabled injections of capital from governments and corporations flush with cash. Our position on the development cycle compared to other countries further along the path has been another saving grace for Australia. It has meant a timely return on investment from policy initiatives of recent decades. All these factors have been a soothing balm papering over any cracks or sores that may have been festering. At least, temporarily so. At least up to this year. Author Tim Winton touches on these concerns in 'Island Home':
"Other people must surely have found these surroundings as distressing as I did. Yet they were silent. Likely opponents lacked the vocabulary to understand the transformation of the world in which they lived. Few words existed to describe the destruction. The dominance of the language of economics shrank alternative vocabularies. The leading men of Australia applauded the whole, endless clutter...as growth and development. With their eyes on the future, most people were too busy to notice the spreading ugliness, and they unwittingly but irrevocably bequeathed ugliness to the future.'
Indeed, since his demise the most recently dumped Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, has repeatedly raised concerns of what was no about exactly this type of 'malaise'. He notably did so at his final press conference, in a special 7:30 report, in an interview for the Sydney Writers Festival and of course in his already infamous memoir A Bigger Picture in which he literally pleads for a return to sensible, measured, evidence based yet nuanced and long term policy formulation to counter the issues bubbling away beneath the surface. His most recent interview in particular gave an insight into the tribalism, nativism and populism that has dogged the Australian political landscape in recent decades. In the interview exchange, relating the debacle that is navigating the Climate Change policy quagmire, he incredulously replied "I mean some even asked me: "do you believe in climate change"? As if it is a belief? But that is like saying do you believe in gravity? It is not a belief, it is a fact!". This one small example goes some way to explain why a nation with the capacity to be a world leader continues to dawdle on reform and policy innovation.
If left unchecked, Australia faces the very real possibility of increasing inequity and "being left behind" comparative to the rest of the world. Indeed in some areas this has sadly alredy begun: highest rate of obesity per capita, highest rate of CO2 emissions per capita, highest rate of incarceration of indigenous persons per capita, increasing crackdown on freedom of press & speech, falling democracy index value, declining educational standards, and so on. Over the longer term this will fuel civil unrest and see a mainstream resurgence in isolationist ideologies that were previously tempered and placated by "fat in the system". That "fat" is no longer available. The budget is not 'back in black' as infamously claimed by Treasurer Josh Frydenburg. While "balancing the budget" is an admirable goal, and channelling funds towards punitive & protectionist policies such as Border Force, Defence, Corrective services & Trade are options, when push comes to shove it has been unsurprising to find that our leaders suddenly "find" money necessary to get the job done. Currently, industries we invest in reflect the employment and profit benefits generated from such activities. Instead, our investment ought to reflect the extent to which our social harmony and success is dependent upon specific industries. Calls for broader and more far reaching reform are coming from surprising positions of power, ones previously viewed as less interventionist and more conservative, such as the likes of Philip Lowe, Governor of Reserve Bank of Australia for example. In their book Two Futures, Federal MPs Clare O'Neil and Tim Watts, go into more detail on the failings of our democratic system in addressing the big issues in the decades ahead. They outline and advocate for creative ways that could be considered in combating them. Education is an undeniably potent factor to meet these challenges head on. Our predicament is a function of existing educational and pedagogical practices that have simply not adapted to changing times. The educational industry inherited from times gone by has manifestly resulted in declining standards, increasing student disengagement, higher unemployment and rising incidences of mental health disorders. This signifies failings in social policy and political leadership to ensure educational institutions are sufficiently resourced to adapt. It doesn't need to be this way. Emerging reports that highlight the necessity of educational investment and innovative education policy initiatives ought to be applauded. "This unprecedented time is an opportunity for the greater education community to come together to collaborate on further research, strategies and solutions to support distance teaching both in its current state and in its future state (e.g., as part of a blended approach as schools stagger reopening physical classrooms)" Pivot Learning Report on impact of COVID19, 2020. As such, it appears nonsensical that education often goes unnoticed or unmentioned in strategic governmental policy development. A networked educational framework that gestates creative and divergent thinking is required to pioneer initiatives and solutions. A rejuvenated education system, focused intently and explicitly on upskilling those core learning competencies for self actualisation in "unprecedented times", will help avoid the gnawing fear and insecurity which inevitably slide into disrespect, intolerance and anger. It is an almighty mitigating factor to see off division and derision.
HERE AND NOW
There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about"
Margaret Wheatley, Author & Systems Management Consultant.
The ever louder clamouring for fundamental reform must include re-imagined educational systems. This is the only way we will be in a feasible position to "meet and beat" similarly challenging issues in the future. The use of this three word slogan is intentional. It is emblematic of the pervasive political landscape of recent times.
Times like these force a re-evaluation of the relationships we share with each other and the important day to day role played by institutions that form the bedrock of our society (schools, universities, libraries, hospitals, arts & culture, community groups, friends of groups, sporting & hobby clubs). During a time of social isolation with the term "essential services" increasingly bandied around, the importance of these sectors has become more emphasised. It is social infrastructure such as these that sustain community bonds and provide opportunities to bring us together. These are the spaces that not only establish but build and strengthen societal norms and expectations. So instead of incessantly hurtling down a path of economic rationalism by either attaching funding to standardisation or ripping funding in 'real terms' out of community sectors (health, education, art etc), a good place to start in helping re-establish a common dialogue and understanding would be to put education higher up in a list of priorities. We now have this unique opportunity to take stock & challenge some fundamental preconceptions (which have become automated & unquestioned). For example:
What do we consider success to be?
How do we gauge a life well lived?
What do we value & celebrate?
This time of wicked problems calls for adaptive, human-centred leaders who immerse themselves in these iterative, generative processes. Greater urgency now exists to understand how to pivot (new word for 2020!), innovate and leverage off pluralism. An understanding of interconnectedness, or connectography as dubbed by Parag Khanna in his book by the same title, are characteristics that now need to guide decision making. The intricately symbiotic relationships across our globes means that cosmopolitanism, plurality and sustainable development need to inform long term decision making. This needs to be done with collaboration from multi-stakeholders, aligned with companies who balance people before profit by ensuring a healthy respect between individuality and cultural diversity. Again, as mentioned previously this is the 'new power' eloquently advocated by contemporary thinkers Timms and Hiemans. Development and growth for the sake of growth (as measured in purely economic terms of GDP) has over the longer term been proven ineffective and arguably counter productive. Alternatives have been floated. The WEF, OECD, IMF and UN all advocate for their version of systems that go "beyond GDP". Even the US has come up with their version! So far, the tiny nation kingdom of Bhutan leads with the way with GNH. As Simon Sinek argues in his most recent book Infinite Game, profit before purpose will leave lasting scars on organisations, economies and communities. So companies and organisations are now looking beyond the profit principle as the sole driving motivation. The triple bottom line approach or in some instances the recognition of the power of a circular model of reinvestment in community from high profile companies joining umbrella organisations such as B corp. In his recent no holds barred expose on societal complexities, Mark Manson, talks about the notion of the rational and emotional brain. He states that the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with it's exponentially scaled inventions, means we have left the rational era. Basically he argues that the rational brain, which was systems orientated and linear, was appropriate for the factory models arising from the industrial revolution of mechanisation. In that context standardisation based on commonly held rules and conformity dictated societal priorities. However, we are now entering an era where things are changing so fast that emotions prime and feelings drive intuitive gut decisions. In Thinking Fast and Slow Brain author Daniel Kahneman lays out a similar premise.
Educational systems therefore need to be more openly democratic and agile in responding to changing world realities. In re-framing the discussion and priorities around government investment, particularly into community services such as Education, policy makers and reform advocates might do well to ask questions such as:
What do we understand learning to mean? Why do we believe the traditional classroom lends itself to being conducive to learning?
How might today’s VUCA context play to student strengths, igniting collaborative innovative ways of student thinking? Indeed, how have they already responded creatively during this latest crisis?
Where else might students find inspiration & obtain stimulus to learn? Who else can participate, influence & stimulate student learning during this time?
These aspirations do not currently sit well with the ache-typical silo-ed structures of these mechanisms, ones that are traditionally rigidly hierarchical, compliant and single mindedly focused on a command and control, linear, drill and drive regime of standardized testing. Ulterior models with a broader, non-linear, heutaogical approach to education, challenge this power dichotomy. This will require patient collaboration, an acceptance that facets of such approaches often remain more difficult to measure. Suggestions that focusing more inherently on meta-cognition and self regulated learning, one that requires time, trial, error and imperfect outcomes to nourish curiosity, experiential learning and self determination are threatening to the status quo. Compliance and standardisation regimes are contrary to that. Sequential checklists drive process into increasingly "busy" work without doing much in terms of engendering a genuine love of learning. Creative minds must be geared towards finding innovative ways of better balancing priorities. It is unsurprising then that Ken Robinson continues to advocate for creative thinking and conditions that are right for education because they address the seven senses of touch, taste, sound, smell, sight, intuition and balance. Under the guidance of Andreas Schleicher, the Education Directorate of the OECD has been clamouring for curriculum reform and the promotion of core learning competencies. In 21st Century Skills: Learning for life in our times, Fadel and Trilling (2009) present a deep dive into the need to infuse the key skills need to combat and navigate the impact of an 'AC world'. The authors are joined by Bailik in their seminal book Four Dimensional Learning (2015) which advocates and provides systems templates for the inclusion and role out of such competencies in schools. This work is further supported and easily accessed via the associated website Center for Curriculum Redesign.
We don't need graduates who simply "enter a world of work", as if passengers on a conveyor belt moving towards a destination. Rather we need citizens who "continuously contribute and participate in the world", engaged in life long learning in recognition that the world around them will necessitate that mindset. Pedagogy and a system that prioritises and values creative design thinking, trialling and prototyping to address real issues is far more likely to establish a society skilled at responding to difficult times. Collectively education departments, schools, TAFEs and Universities need to step up the evolution of student engagement and the delivery of a relevant curriculum. These institutions have an obligation to create conditions ripe for an emergent, participatory ethos; one that demonstrably augments engagement through agency, voice and choice. After all ownership of contributions and solutions inevitably means vested interests with more "skin in the game" therefore enhancing the likelihood of improved outcomes. We need students to analyse the deeper issues. Students can be empowered and encouraged by exposing them to opportunities that develop critical analysis over rote learning. Critical & creative thinking are higher order skills which amplifies deep learning. Deep learning is a term used by Fullan, Quinn and McEachen to describe the process by which learners engage meaningfully with real world problems and contexts, thereby developing competencies that assist in the progression towards self determination and innovation. This could mean greater philosophical prioritisation and tangible resourcing of pedagogies such as Dewey & Piaget's constructivism. An emphasis on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) opportunities is needed, ones that give priority of "Maslow over Bloom" (examples of which can be found in the Benefit Mindset , Positive Education as well as social theories such as Vygotsky Most Knowledgeable Other Nature based play and learning, as well as here and here). Ken Robinson, in Creative Schools, maps out this transformation with numerous case studies of successful schools that have achieved just this. Similarly in his much acclaimed film Most Likely To Succeed and book entitled What School Could Be, educator and author Ted Tindersmith argues that change is possible provided the intent, will and understanding are appropriately directed.
It is sometimes overwhelming to consider just how many powerful examples of this creative, immersive, divergent, student led pedagogy exist around the world. Globally OECD Learning Compass from the OECD Education Directorate is a wholistic yet practical framework that reminds us of the interconnected nature of future education. The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile offers a similar view of what is considered a "whole education". Schools such as High Tech High and Blue school as well as prestigious universities such as Stanford's D School and Harvard's Project Zero, provided specifically re-designed curriculum geared at incubating creativity and reform in education. Social enterprise networked communities such as Presencing Institute, Shared Value Project, Ashoka, Purpose and Avaaz all promote collaboration and discourse in imagining new solutions. Educational social movements such as Big Change, or Knowmads Educational Futures, Big Picture Learning and Learn life Round Square, Observatory of Education Innovation (Mexico), Hundred Org, all promote various systems or designs to re-imagine society through different educational experiences. As do educational innovators such as Modern Learners, Project Based Learning, Getting Smart and Relationships Foundation UK.
Of course such initiatives similarly exist nationally. For example many public and private schools provide a host of divergent experiences such as Templestowe College and St Pauls (who's Headmaster Paul Browning authored a compelling reflection on Educational Leadership called Principled) to name only two. Monash University's Education Futures, Swinburne's Centre for New Workforce, VU's Mitchell Institute are a small selection of the many tertiary initiatives that exist. Social policy research think tanks such as Foundation for Young Australians, Social Ventures Australia, The Australia Institute are some of the many who provide the necessary information to trigger reform. Even corporates get in on the social capital act! PWC has the Impact Assembly, KPMG has Banarra and Deloitte's 2019 report into the future of work Path to Prosperity goes some way in articulating why social investment is so important.
Australia is also home to hundreds of pioneering educational innovators who promote various educational methodologies, such as NoTosh, Crazy Ideas College, Benefit Mindset, Rites of Passage Institute, Project Thrive, and Trustmapping to name a few. Alternative pedagogical frameworks are also available through Big Picture Education or Kids Teaching Kids for instance. Similarly thousands of charities, not for profits, small local "Friends of..." groups exist around Australia, contributing daily to our social capital, to the threads that bind us. For example Millenium Kids, Plastic Free July or Streetswags provide immersive experiences for children. Others are involved with associations such as Future Schools Alliance, Bright Spots Connection or networked communities such as E²: Educational Ecosystems, Twitter's well established AussieED, CIRCLE's School of Tomorrow or new collaborations including Learning Creates Australia who all seek to innovate and lead.
TOMORROW
"Our similarities bring us to a common ground, our differences allow us to be fascinated by each other"
Tom Robbins, Author
The future will be increasingly relational. Purposes intertwined. Cultural narratives are the sum of interwoven individual personal stories. Explicit and tacit knowledge, skills and disposition are needed to nurture relationships and interconnected networks in a time of hyper-connectivity. As Thomas L Friedman points out in "Thank you for being late", community and neighbourhood are fundamentally important and crucial in . From working, living and travelling in different countries, industries and professions, I am convinced that the manner in which we collectively contend with uncertainty is largely dependent on the investment made in educational and social capital to enhance individual capacity. Such connected 'human infrastructure' is a great enabler of creative, divergent thinking that grapples with seemingly disparate ideas to generate new possibilities and solutions for wicked problems. These call for adaptive, human-centred citizens who vulnerably immerse themselves in the generative process of life and work in the 21st Century. Those who personify an infinite game mindset. It is likely that careers spanning different contexts, countries & sectors will be the platforms needed to provide access and exposure to the prerequisite skills for this time of flux. In 2018 Whittlesea Secondary High School's new principal Lian Davies and I presented on this topic at Coaching Focus' The Leadership Exchange: "Navigating the Crossing" in which we advocated for teachers to embrace new opportunities to reinvent themselves and for an industry that was more agile in encouraging newcomers to the table. Such lived wisdom needs to be tapped into in ensuring we transition from so much talk to more action.
In my view education properly done resembles a full feedback loop in which:
Information = Knowledge = Understanding = Connection = Empathy = Collaborative solutions.
Effective learning and teaching is a little like watching alchemy in action. Alchemy is magic. Similarly, the learning journey needs to be magical. Our children deserve no less. Teaching must increasingly become viewed as a fellowship rather than a profession stratified by hierarchical structures bestowing titles of leadership upon those who have 'done their time'. That is a term used to describe a prison sentence. Such insitutionalisation and systematisation is not a solution appropriate to this day and age. Over reliance on data now often means that whatever we are researching has already well and truly passed us by. That ship sailed a long time ago. The emphasis now is more on intuition and gut instinct, the intangible, emotional skills in reading the play before it happens. This is where distinction rather than 'genericness' is so crucial. Leaders require a mindset that us brave enough to show nerve in being different. Take for example Jacinda Ardern's role modelling of the Teachers are no longer islands operating in isolation. Edwin Friedman goes into much detail on this matter in "The Failure of Nerve". Our working context now demands a far greater strategic awareness of a broader reality. A reality that is nuanced and oft insoluble. This requires skills to consider the inherent difficulty our existing structures and systems have in facing the multi-polar nature of our world today. Such skills and dispositions are both explicit and tacit, generated from varied real world life experiences, in which relationships and interconnectivity are nurtured. The advent of the internet, travel and unprecedented times means teachers can not be considered the "sage on the stage". We can no longer operate as islands in isolation. No longer the kings or queens of their fiefdom (classroom). Because the world is our classroom. And that world is exponentially horizontal, open sourced, interactive, interdependent and changing. Such a reality demands educators embrace challenging contexts, to sit comfortably with complexity and discomfort. Reknown academic & theorist Margaret Wheatley talks of this in her article "Disturb me, Please!"in which she advocates discomfort as a catalyst in becoming fully alive. Also, students themselves need to take responsibility. To flourish within challenging contexts they too need to develop the ability to sit comfortably with discomfort. To "respond ably, they must develop the ability to respond". Again, author Mark Manson refers to this process as anti-fragility and, in my view, correctly argues that we grow and upskill if several behaviours can be adopted: avoid withdrawing from unpleasant experiences, be resilient in riding it out, see the new opportunity, reflect and learn from the experience, adapt and renew for a better tomorrow. Easier said than done no doubt! But with a mindshift it is possible. It can be achieved through a licence to experiment and reset. To grapple with complexity. To challenge, assess context, imagine responses, visualise systems, trial protoypes and integrate tailored solutions. Far more qualified educators have confirmed...... "in a more volatile, uncertain world, characterised by innovation and entrepreneurship, we now need to equip young people to solve problems of all shapes and sizes. Problems that will not come with instructions. To make that shift, education systems need to provide dynamic experiences for young people through which they can learn in practice how to deploy knowledge in action, to work with others and to develop critical personal strengths such as persistence and resilience, to learn from feedback and overcome setbacks" (Charles Leadbeater, The Problem Solvers, 2017 ). Riding such highs and lows however will require the collective expertise and skills of a truly networked profession. One where ecosystems collaborate and platforms for discourse thrive and ensure the vitality of each component. Their role in creating conditions ripe for exchange and ideation will be crucial in determining our resourcing of the institutions promoting social capital. A flourishing educational ecosystem, inherently networked to collaborate, will inculcate educators who connect the dots between seemingly disparate issues and ideas. Those who are able to adopt a systems balcony view yet also pierce through the fog to bring about real, practical change that can be tangibly seen, felt and heard day to day. This will be possible through partnerships, between those willing to learn about meaning, not things. Those who seek to fulfil a purpose, not simply a role.
AHEAD
“We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience”
John Dewey, Educator
Life, as we know it, has fundamentally changed. Perhaps irreversibly. Hopefully for the better. To shift from hope to actuality requires a rethinking in education as Ken Robinson sums up best:
To mature as a society, we must better navigate the grey between extremes. Understanding the "grey-zone" between absolutes, between fact and fiction, black and white, right and wrong requires nuanced decision making. Issues will remain largely insoluble. Outcomes will remain imperfect. But that is the beauty of the journey we navigate. Complex times call for nuanced solutions. This will require patience and commitment from electorates increasingly addicted to the short term hit of economic surpluses. disengaged. We must acknowledge that if, as Lincoln so aptly puts it, we are to "rise to the occasion" the difference now is the occasion demands far greater consideration. Consideration that is more nuanced, adaptive and contextually individualised to situations that evolve exponentially faster than ever before. In The Good Life and Australia Reimagined, renown Australian demographer Hugh MacKay provides poignant reminders that within humankind's imperfection is an essential goodness and ability to persevere. He advocates for more interpersonal, neighbourly connections in building that social resilience. Hence the clarion call for a reinvestment in social capital. The recent pandemic may have ironically done just that. Education has an undeniably important role to play in all this.
To continue living an Australian dream that we can bequeath to our children means we cannot take for granted the individual, collective and systems-centred institutions and mechanisms that cultivate the social capital needed to shape society as we know it today. Because it is an amazingly fortunate and privileged country we live in. And that demands an appreciation of the conditions that created it as such.
Because after all, despite Hopkins' hopefully nostalgic cry, Australia won't always be
"young and sure to have our way".....
