In the digital age, routine cognitive & manual skills are losing value. Complex problem solving skills and creative thinking are now of paramount importance. Social and emotional skills are also more valuable than ever. 

Consider this everyday example: today, when you don’t know the answer to a question, you Google it. Because you receive an abundance of answers for said question, the problem then becomes how to evaluate your sources and figure out the correct answer to your query. The ability to parse through data and discern the truth is becoming increasingly important in an age where all the information in the world is right at our fingertips. 

Additionally, the process of learning itself has undergone a dramatic paradigm shift. No longer is it simply about teaching people something, the new standard is to give students a reliable compass and the navigation tools to help them find their way in the world. Literacy has also changed. Instead of extracting knowledge, the focus is now on constructing knowledge. 

Today’s students are, for the most part, passive learners. Education is primarily about the absorption and rote memorization of materials. However, in order for them to thrive in tomorrow’s world, they must become active learners, acquiring and developing knowledge on their own. This requires a very different pedagogical approach. Although passive learning may help students get through school, it cannot prepare them for the challenges of the real world. The age that we live in is rapidly changing, and we must educate students with that fact in mind. It is imperative that we train them for growth and challenge them to think in a multitude of ways, developing their skills and allowing them to think like scientists, mathematicians, and historians, for example. Gone are the days when we used to learn in order to simply do work. Now, learning itself has become the work. It is a full-time job in its own right.