Engaged Learning

Those who are baby boomers were educated by people who knew what the workforce was like. They were preparing them for real jobs. When they were young they heard what their jobs would be like and most of the time they were right. Not that they picked a job when they were young and stuck with it until they were older, but they had a solid picture of what the world was like.

My generation, GenX, was educated the same way, only when we got there, the world was nothing like we were told. Modern technology changed everything. The jobs we were educated for were still around, but the way we do them did not exist then. They were not even thought of. In fact, when I was young I thought I would pretty much have the same job when I was an adult. Instead I have been laid off three times through acquisitions and major down-sizings. Not something that was foreseen by my educators.

Fast forward to today. We now recognize that when our children enter the workforce and really get into their career, we have no idea of what that will be like. Sure, there will be finance people, managers, educators, scientists, doctors, lawyers. But the way in which they will perform their job has not been, and cannot be, identified - because it doesn’t exist yet.

So how do we prepare others for the future?

Yesterday my 12-yr old son called me at work, wanting me to help him with a math problem - probability. We talked about it and I led him through it. Because I could not show him anything, it was difficult. Had we both been hooked up to a net meeting I would have easily been able to do it. But instead, when I got home, we talked about it.

I asked him, “Have you ever had a glass of gasoline?” Of course he had not. “Why,” I asked him. Because it is not good for your body. “But I never told you not to drink it.” True, but he knew that if he put harmful things into his body, there would be an adverse reaction. I talked to him about principles - in mathematics, formulas. X= ? and Y=? If you know the formula, you can plug any numbers in there for similar problems and get the right answers every time. That is like life. If you know the principle behind it, you can be put into any situation and know what to do. He would know, for example, not to drink gasoline.

This is one of the major ways we can prepare others. Sure, teach them the basics, teach them the three Rs. Then, teach them how to lead, how to solve problems, how to recognize patterns, how to analyze those patterns, how to put a plan in place and execute against that plan, how to work with others and collaborate.

We have no idea what the world will be like in a few years. If you look at the last few years, everyone, even those that cannot afford it, carry cell phones. That has changed so many different aspects of our culture, let alone has large, previously stable land line phone companies more than a little worried.

And with us, we should be a little worried - no anxious. Anxious to find those things that will prepare others and ourselves for a world that we cannot predict a world that holds great opportunities. We must learn the principles - the formulas - and learn how and when to apply them.

Labels: formula, GenX, prepare