What Students Need to Compete in an Ever-Changing Word

Written By:

Keeanna Warren

Principal

Indianapolis, Indiana

The world is continuously changing and evolving. Some of the most innovative and accessible technology-based companies of our time are dying out. We have no idea what the future of work will look like for the next generation. Researchers predict that the majority of the jobs of the future do not currently exist. With an ever-changing world, how do we prepare our kids for the future? The educational landscape is changing; from how students learn best, what students need to know and aspire to, the global economy and its engine, where students get their information, to the needs of companies and communities. For these reasons, I believe education needs to change on a secondary level.

As the leader of a STEM-focused high school, my goal is to make sure that I am cultivating the next generation of leaders prepared to succeed as future technology trailblazers. Students need to know how to address critical state and global challenges. To accomplish this, more than focusing on academic excellence, I know that I need to help students become great innovators, collaborators, problem solvers, and communicators. In this increasingly diverse work, students must know how to communicate and work alongside people who share a different background or hold an opposing worldview. Students must learn to disagree civilly. 

As educators, we must go beyond teaching simple memorization and basic facts. We shouldn’t spend all of our time teaching kids information that they could easily Google. We have to teach students digital literacy so they can engage appropriately in this information world. Students must be able to research and decipher useful information from inaccuracies and fallacies. These are the skills that college and employers are telling us that they need on their teams. My advice to parents is to continue to hold your child's school accountable for these metrics. Your student's future depends on it.