As I am writing this, we find ourselves in the second week of the CMCO and we are back to learning online. As the pandemic refuses to lie down; 2020 has become a year in which all of us have had to be very flexible and adaptable. Both teachers and children made the switch to online learning in a smooth, fluent manner. Children quickly settled back into their learning spaces and teachers adapted their planning and fired up their online creativity one again. The teachers have carried out IPC exit and entry points, going all out to get that level of engagement that we want for those activities. We also continue to see innovative use of technology to aid the learning of the children. One example of that must be the virtual mini whiteboards used by the children to visualise their thinking and their answers. A very effective use of technology that enhances the learning in those sessions. No one can quite predict what the near future will bring for us, but the recent weeks have shown that our community is well equipped to deal with whatever will be needed. The learning will continue!
This week we ran another online information session for prospective parents who are interested in joining our school. We see our key responsibility to help getting our students prepared for a future we cannot really predict at all. We call that ‘Raising them Ready’. To actually make this happen, we still need to find clarity on what it is they will need in that future. The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) provides us with answers to that question. We expect a world that will operate more at a global scale than ever before. Therefore, children who grow up to be true global citizens will be more prepared to work in that way, with colleagues from around the world and with a greater understanding of different perspectives and contexts. The IPC is the only curriculum I know of that has a built in programme of identified goals for the students to work on that will help them to become confident learners today and the global citizens of the future.
We will also see further expansional technology advances which will create jobs and opportunities. Whilst we don’t yet know what all those jobs will be, we do know that they will still be dependent on key skills that the professionals will have at their disposal. The IPC allows the students to practise those skills continuously as a result of the way the curriculum is structured and the emphasis it places on skills development.
Another trend that we say when looking into the future is what has been called ‘degree inflation’. More and more young hopefuls are entering the workforce with Bachelor or Master degrees. This means that in the future it will be even more important for job applicants to stand out and bring qualities to the table that will make them more attractive to the employer. Research shows that they are increasingly looking at attributes, skills and values they bring on top of their academic achievements. The IPC helps to develop these by the way the learning is organised and at Taylor’s our approach with our RECIPE brings out these attributes, skills and values that will be required in the future workforce. The future might be unclear, but we will Raise them Ready!
