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| by Joe Poletti | |||||||||||
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 Brain-based Futuring The other problem with the mission statement claim, however, seems to be receiving scant attention. That problem has more to do with the unpredictability of the future. How well can we effectively prepare our students for a future that will be increasingly characterized by such rapidly evolving phenomena as technology, globalization, shifting demographics, terrorism, neural networks, and information overload? Recently, I plugged into And The English Majors Shall Inherit the Earth by business author Daniel Pink. In this hour-long audiocast aired on NPR Midday, Pink claims that success for Americans in the future will require a different set of qualities than we have relied upon in the past. He predicts that the challenges being established by Abundance, Asia, and Automation will tilt the scales for success from left-brain dominance (linear, logical, analytical, spreadsheet) to right-brain dominance (artistry, empathy, inventiveness, creativity). He points out how improvements in technology and increased globalization forced our nation’s economy to evolve from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age. Technology, increased globalization, and our society’s increased demand for goods and services then gave rise to the knowledge worker of the Information/Communication Age. A primary question arises. Did our system of schooling evolve with the evolution of economies? Or are we left with an 18th century model of government directing a 19th century model of education to prepare our students for an unpredictable 21st century future? Pink does not stop there. He asserts that we are in a new era of competitive logic, The Conceptual Age. This is an age for creators and empathizers. Basically, triumph in this age (which will probably only last a minute in historical chronology) will come to those who figure out a service or product that satisfies a functional or non-material need, that can’t be done overseas cheaper, and that a computer can’t do faster. Are we preparing our students for this inevitable eventuality? Pink enumerates six abilities characteristic of the right side of the brain and how they may influence success in the future.
Pink concludes that these abilities or qualities are what people want to do naturally out of a sense of instrinsic motivation. Hobbies, for example, are generally marked by the above datapoints. Hobbies can be described as “work as play;” hobbyists generally are life-long learners. According to Pink, the future will be marked by congruence between what people do out of instrinsic motivation (joy) and the things that will confer economic advantage. A blogger cannot effectively reduce Daniel Pink’s compelling message to a set of datapoints. Pink’s presentation style is marked with enthusiasm, wit and humor. It is a must listen for all English teachers and all interested in the future.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. |
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