Learning How to Cope with Change
One of the most critical skills for coping with change is being able to
learn, but critics warn that the education system is not helping us develop that skill.
In the United States, the problem is that funding for education is
controlled by governments and the content of education is controlled by education
administrators, while learners have very little choice. This situation needs to change,
argues John C. Lundt, a professor of educational leadership at the University of
Montana. American education needs to abandon the place-bound schoolhouse--and the monopoly
of public schools, he writes. Distance learning, home schooling, charter schools, and
other recent developments will make learning an everywhere, all the time, lifetime
activity. (See "Learning for Ourselves: A New Paradigm for Education," page 18
of the print edition.)
Futures studies could have a great deal to contribute to the future of
education in general, suggests Arthur B. Shostak, former professor of sociology at
Drexel University and longtime futures educator. In this issue, Shostak proposes the
creation of magnet schools designed with futures studies as a meta-curriculum. This would
refocus all high-school subject matter--arts and sciences, business and industrial
arts--to emphasize big-picture and systems thinking and creative problem solving, along
with sharpening students' skills in specialized futures techniques such as cross-impact
analysis, trend extrapolation, and technological forecasting. (See "High Schools for
Futurism," page 23.)
A number of sessions at the World Future Society's annual meeting last
summer focused on education issues as well as the general need to learn how to
think about the future. By doing so, we will approach the future with greater intelligence
that allows us to harness all the new technological tools at our disposal. (See
"Creating a More Intelligent Future," page 48.)
To order the print edition of THE FUTURIST, please click: https://www.wfs.org/futuristorder.htm
