Giving Compass' Take:

• Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart discusses the importance of student contribution and five ways schools can support it.

• How does this idea align with the changing workforce? Will more student contribution prepare students for the future? 

• Read about how different learning styles can foster agency in students. 

What if, instead of shuffling from one disconnected course to another, high school was an invitation to contribution–a chance for each young person to figure out what they care about, what they’re good at, and how and where they want to make a difference?

One thing we know about the #FutureofWork is that it will be full of novelty and complexity. More work will be done in teams augmented by smart machines. Taking Initiative, using design thinking, and practicing collaboration will become even more important.

What if high school was like earning a driver’s license but for citizenship. What if young people had the opportunity to investigate the world they will inherit and begin to make their contribution?

There are five reasons schools should focus on contribution:

  1. Better Preparation. Ironically, the best preparation for a future full of novelty and complexity is helping young people make a contribution here and now.
  2. More Motivation. Focusing on local versions of global problems and opportunities makes learning authentic, integrated and community connected.
  3. Pressing Problems. Young people are the first generation to be experiencing the impact of dramatic climate change—terrible storms, violent fires, and rising sea levels—and perhaps the last generation with a change to effect a sustainable change.
  4. More Opportunity. As evidenced by the global climate strike organized by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, it has never been easier to launch a global campaign.
  5. Social Economy. As populations age and as automation eats rule-based jobs, the need and opportunity for the social economy will expand.

Read the full article about school contribution by Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart.