Question 1: How can we best prepare our children for the future?
Please begin your post with your city and country.
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Nairobi Kenya
Our chioldrena can be best prepared by learning not to be partisan. To be non discriminate on others non racist non tribal and other forms of of discrimination so that the world can be a global village in the future.
The best article I’ve seen on this is http://www.changethis.com/38.03.EdInnovation, followed closely by another from the IEA arguing for the economic liberatlisation of education and removing it from Government control / state monopoly.
It certainly seems very true that innovation in education will come from countries like India and China who face the challenge of educating huge numbers. It is likely that the internet will play a large role in this so that the greatest teachers can teach hundreds of thousands of students. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4365350.stm for an example.
We also need more flexibility in WHAT we encourage learning in (note the change from passive ‘teach’ to active ‘learn’), since we at the moment we inculcate a struggle for the ‘top’, rather than contentment with a simpler life. (The ‘life and music’ animation http://www.souljerky.com/articles/south_park_zen_alan_watts_trey.html is a great demonstration of this problem).
Whilst I don’t entirely agree with complete liberalisation (since if the government is to be responsible for its citizens later on (social security), it should also be allowed to ensure they are capable of earning a living, so some for of regulation would be required.
[…] My answer to this question: […]
In my opinion the best preparation of our children could be achieved by being, ourself, prepared. Prepare to love them as they are. Prepared to accept them as they are not. Prepared to convey to them a strong sense that they are responsible for their choice, for their dignity, for their future.
To convey that they will live in a world they are responsible to understand and participate into, that they are responsible for the circumstances in heir own life, that contingencies are no excuses for inaction and that their action are rich in consequences., that it is up to them to direct their life toward what they regard to be a good life, that there is often little time for hesitation, To choose is to live!. And also, because we love them, they can share with us their hopes and their projects, that we are worth their trust in our future usage of this information.
This is clearly a very political proposal. This is clearly a point of view that could serve our communities, our economical choices our own lives.
Athens Ohio USA
Hello!
Our group has chosen question #3 and a recent post in that category compared #1 & #3 as being very similar. I have replied there, but also thought I’d check out this conversation. I have intentionally worked to prepare my children and others in the community for the future. If I were sitting in your conversation cafe on this topic, I would say that we need to prepare our children to survive: know the land, the plants, the animals, develop skills such as first aid and survival skills. The broader theoretical values, etc., are extremely important but life on this planet is predicted to change dramatically and it may come down to survival. Preparing them in conversational literacy, teamwork, and community strengthening and networking is also extremely important. Thanks, good luck, and have fun! kj
Ed Dowding writes ” If government is to be responsible…it should ensure that citizen are capable of earning a living”
I believe that I have a different opinion of government.
Government is an agreement between citizen, not a living representation of a higher being. Citizen, not government are responsible for their members to be capable of earning a living. We have, literally, the government we deserved, Some clearly wish their government to concentrate on making their citizen to fear, honor and obey their religious dogma, not on earning money.
Citizen must prepare their children for the future, but they do not all want the same future. Building a community is to some extend choosing to all go in the same direction because we so chose to go. Citizen must rely on their own choice to convince other to share these choices. Abuses of power, abuses of process,lack of transparency are clearly issues that prevent citizen to share goals by choice. And these issue are evident in all our government. Teaching children to recognize them and chose to resist them would be a beneficial transformation.
I would say that to honor children at the same level we honor others (and things) would go a long way in paving the way for their future growth.