I’ve been talking to school districts around the country for the past two years about how quickly “the future” is coming at us. And my belief hasn’t changed any with all that I’ve seen in the news recently. Have you seen these headlines?
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2018/11/1.htm
https://www.mysmartprice.com/gear/samsung-foldable-phone-display-specifications-confirmed-announcement-expected-nov-7/
https://qz.com/1449634/amazons-reduced-holiday-hiring-is-a-bad-sign-for-human-workers/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-factory-automation-skills-20181105-story.html
Other Signs of the Time
If those headlines aren’t enough to convince you that “the future” is happening much, much faster than anyone could have predicted, consider these recent developments:
- In Japan, as a response to the diminishing number of farm workers, they have begun using robots to milk their cows (source).
- The first of December 2018, Waymo began offering driverless taxi cab rides to customers in four Phoenix suburbs with plans to eventually extend this program across the country (source).
- “Smart clothes” are one of the big gifts being given this holiday season (source).
- Starship has launched a new delivery service powered by robots (source).
- Fast food, real estate, military operations, even home improvement — many large industries will have to shift their strategies in the wake of driverless cars (source).
How Schools Should Be Preparing
So what should schools be doing to prepare? I’d love to come out and talk with your educators and leaders about what is heading our way in the future and what all of us must do in order to ensure that our students have the skills they need to be successful today and tomorrow. Please feel free to email me at lgracey@tcea.org. I can do a presentation to a large or small group and then work with your administrators, all just for the cost of my travel. Why is TCEA so passionate about this? Because we believe that our students must receive a stronger education that embraces the changes that the future is bringing us and this starts with our teachers and leaders.
