Lifeskills for 21st Century

T h e i mp o r ta n c e of a c q u i r i n g n ew l i fe s k i l ls t h at a re re l eva nt i n to day ’s c o ntex t Life Skills -for success in the 21st century An overview www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Saber-Tooth Curriculum In the book ‘Saber-Tooth Curriculum’ author J. Abner Peddiwell, with tongue firmly in cheek, says The first educationist, in the primitive age, was ‘New-Fist’, inventor of the first fist hammer That time men caught fish with bare hands, clubbed the lazy woolly horses for meat and drove away saber-tooth tigers with fire www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Saber-Tooth Curriculum New Fist, who was a thinker, perfected these arts and thought of ways to teach these skills to children Thus started the first school, with Saber-Tooth Curriculum Conservative members of the tribe resisted these newfangled ideas about formal education They said ‘Great Mystery’ who speaks in thunder and lightening never wanted children to be formally taught However, since these skills were very useful and brought in more food, New Fist’s school prevailed www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Saber-Tooth Curriculum Time passed and conditions changed A great glacier crept closer to the tribe’s valley The once crystal clear streams became muddy and it became impossible to catch fish with bare hands The ground became marshy and the lazy woolly horses went east to dry plains; instead came nimble antelopes The saber-tooth tigers became extinct; to be replaced by ferocious glacial bears www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Saber-Tooth Curriculum Putting meat on the table became extremely difficult However, a free thinker of New Fist breed figured that vines could be knit together to form nets and fish could be caught even in murky waters Another discovered that the vine could be used to form a noose to catch the elusive antelopes Yet another found that digging a deep pit in a bear trail and covering it with leaves and branches was an efficient way to trap the bears www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Saber-Tooth Curriculum These men proposed that the Saber Tooth curriculum be replaced with a new curriculum -fish-net making, antelope-snare construction and bear catching techniques The sober majority were horrified. “What have these practical activities got to do with schools?” they said The radicals persisted, “These activities require intelligence and skill -things we claim to develop in schools” The wise old men were indignant. “Oh you free thinkers! If only you had some education yourself” they lamented... www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Welcome to the 21st Century Have the conditions changed in the 21st century? Is the context different? Do we need new skills to survive and thrive? www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Why the need for different life skills? 21st century world is different World is no longer complicated; it is now COMPLEX! Jigsaw is complicated -difficult to solve but has a unique solution; Chess is complex -there is no unique solution From global warming to career choices -the issues today have become complex www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Why the need for different life skills? Rate of change is faster than ever before Information is available in abundance Memorization is neither possible nor required -technology allows easy storage and access Deriving meaning and insights from information is what is key www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Why the need for different life skills? Motivational drives are also be changing, from ‘Learning to Earn’ (e.g. do an MBA if you want a good job) to ‘Yearning to Learn’ and then also earn (by doing what you are passionate about and good at) www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Why the need for different life skills? Success hinges on acquiring new life skills that are relevant in today’s context. Be it, Financial Success Social Success Self-success Learning to be, Self-Awareness Purpose and Meaning www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk Why the need for different life skills? In today’s complex, connected, information abundant, fast changing world what skills will make us really shine? www.TimelessLifeskills.co.uk