Asia has been widely identified as being the most powerful nation by 2030 with China being at the forefront. It is expected that Asia will have a greater Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rating than North America and Europe combined so with this in mind, schools have an obligation to start preparing students for this shift by...
This year I have buddied up with a French class and through our class blogs and individual student blogs we can communicate regularly with each other and learn about each other's cultures. Through Google Maps, Google My Maps, Google Streetview and Google Photospheres we can enjoy virtual field trips to these far away destinations from the comfort of our own homes and classrooms. Connectivity had never been better and will only continue to improve. Google Translator is also a handy tool to enable us to communicate to small degrees in the others language whereas in the past one would've been reliant on the expertise of an on site teacher. The swift move with technology is taking away the walls of classrooms and we are not as far away from each other as we were.
In terms of my own practice learning more Asian languages conflicts with my ideals somewhat as I am an advocate for the revitalisation of te reo Maori in New Zealand schools alongside raising Maori achievement. If the government decided all of a sudden that learning asian languages were to be the priority then this would cause concern. Even though I can see the importance of preparing our children for the future and all that the future brings, I do not want to lose sight of what I believe is a crucial part of our education system and national identity.
"Students’ well-being is strongly influenced by a clear sense of identity, and access and exposure to their own language and culture. " Ka Hikitia - Accelerating Success 2013-2017
Preparing our students for the possibility that they may be living in a major city somewhere throughout their working life.
Another two major trends emerging over the coming years is the move from 1 billion people in the middle class to more than 3 billion people and the majority of the world's population will reside in big cities. Developing countries will be home to 440 of the worlds fastest growing cities that generate 47% of the global GDP. These two trends alone will impact on food production with an estimated 50% increase in order to cater for the growing population. Water and other natural resources will be stretched along with governments worldwide needing to change policies and budget for what these changes will bring. The world's ageing population will add more strain on already stretched resources. As an educator it will be our job to prepare these students with the creative, problem solving and perseverance skills as they will be the ones responsible for dealing with and possibly solving a lot of these issues. I fully believe we are preparing today's and tomorrow's
children for jobs and futures that do not currently exist. For many educators this means a complete change to the way they have spent their entire careers teaching.
References
New Zealand Ministry of Education. (2013c). Ka hikitia. Accelerating success. 2013-2017. The Māori education strategy. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/PolicyAndStrategy/KaHikitia.aspx.
Increasing our connectivity to Asian countries.
I believe that through our greater connectivity due to the incredible shift in access to devices and focus on 21st century skills that teachers and their pupils are able to effectively communicate with teachers all over the world and in real time. This year I have buddied up with a French class and through our class blogs and individual student blogs we can communicate regularly with each other and learn about each other's cultures. Through Google Maps, Google My Maps, Google Streetview and Google Photospheres we can enjoy virtual field trips to these far away destinations from the comfort of our own homes and classrooms. Connectivity had never been better and will only continue to improve. Google Translator is also a handy tool to enable us to communicate to small degrees in the others language whereas in the past one would've been reliant on the expertise of an on site teacher. The swift move with technology is taking away the walls of classrooms and we are not as far away from each other as we were.
Schools could also better prepare our students by offering greater language learning opportunities in the dialects of the dominant cultures. Again, with connectivity being so good schools do not always have to rely on having a teacher on site and lessons can be done online and at times which suit the learner. Many education providers provide mixed media opportunities and through online tutorials, resources and research we can often achieve what we need without a physical teacher being in front of us. Might teachers be redundant in the future?
"Students’ well-being is strongly influenced by a clear sense of identity, and access and exposure to their own language and culture. " Ka Hikitia - Accelerating Success 2013-2017
Preparing our students for the possibility that they may be living in a major city somewhere throughout their working life.
Another two major trends emerging over the coming years is the move from 1 billion people in the middle class to more than 3 billion people and the majority of the world's population will reside in big cities. Developing countries will be home to 440 of the worlds fastest growing cities that generate 47% of the global GDP. These two trends alone will impact on food production with an estimated 50% increase in order to cater for the growing population. Water and other natural resources will be stretched along with governments worldwide needing to change policies and budget for what these changes will bring. The world's ageing population will add more strain on already stretched resources. As an educator it will be our job to prepare these students with the creative, problem solving and perseverance skills as they will be the ones responsible for dealing with and possibly solving a lot of these issues. I fully believe we are preparing today's and tomorrow's
children for jobs and futures that do not currently exist. For many educators this means a complete change to the way they have spent their entire careers teaching.
References
New Zealand Ministry of Education. (2013c). Ka hikitia. Accelerating success. 2013-2017. The Māori education strategy. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/PolicyAndStrategy/KaHikitia.aspx.
KPMG Australia. (2014, May 22). Future State 2030 – Global Megatrends. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8
Pearson. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g
Green.TV (July, 2014) Retrieved from http://green.tv/videos/new-mega-trends/
The RSA.(2010, Oct 14). RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U.
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