And although I come from quite a different background (having never been an official teacher or received a PhD), I spend my life in a classroom of sorts. I study kids—their behavior, ideas, opinions, and more. And as president of the FranklinCovey Education division, mentoring future-ready learners is also my passion. Several years back, I published a book (following in my father’s footsteps) called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Following a decade of research, I concluded that our current education system is just not keeping up with the needs of today’s students. This led my division at FranklinCovey to bring forth a character-based curriculum of its own, The Leader in Me. We saw the need and knew that something needed to be done.
Which brings me to Dr. Lovely. I am enormously gratified by her courageous leadership in identifying ways to bring our current school systems and educators into the new millennium. The time has come to shift away from the paradigms of the past and embrace the future. In Ready for Anything: Four Touchstones for Future-Focused Learning, Dr. Lovely introduces us to her education model, comprised of four touchstones or criteria which can help point educators toward meaningful adjustments that will help prepare our children for the future. These four touchstones are remarkable, proven principles that work wherever a student or teacher falls in their educational journey. Let me explain by giving a quick preview of these principles.
First, Dr. Lovely stresses the need for implementing innovative practices. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The future depends on what we do in the present.” This touchstone encourages educators to challenge students to innovate and create through new ideas and practices. When they do this, they take a big step into the future.
The second touchstone describes how important it is to build a strengths-based culture. This is accomplished by talking to students about their interests and ideas and helping them utilize their innate talents. This, in turn, can lead to new discoveries and build confident learners of the future.
The third touchstone explains the importance of designing personalized experiences for each and every student. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Students must be individually considered and given what they personally need to progress in their own time and their own way.
Fourth, Dr. Lovely believes in the vital importance of collaborating with the outside. Communities, organizations, parents, and others help shape, mold, and connect students to their own unique environments. It truly takes a village.
Each of these touchstones frames a future-ready learning process that advances the cutting edge of education. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” I believe Dr. Lovely is doing just that. By providing this forward-looking framework, she invites educators everywhere to utilize these tools in the way that works best for their situation. I believe it’s time that we take a good look at what’s happening around us in technology, with the internet, social media, and the economy. It is so important to recognize that today’s students need to be prepared to face the reality of a changing world. We can no longer sit back wearing our old lenses and think all is well. A new prescription is needed. Students are ready and waiting for us to guide them into the future. I wholeheartedly support Dr. Lovely’s efforts to aid in this process and highly endorse Ready for Anything as a crucial catalyst for implementing these changes.
Introduction
Renowned 20th century inventor and designer Buckminster Fuller said you can’t change things by fighting the existing system. Rather, to change something, you need to build new models that make existing models obsolete (Buckminster Fuller Institute, n.d.). Fuller spent his life working across disciplines to make the world better for humankind. His broad perspective on global problems drew him to pioneer solutions that revolutionized how people thought, connected, and lived.
This book is designed to inspire educators to become the Buckminster Fullers of their craft—to be lifelong learners, to continuously refine their practice, and to give learners the space to explore and dream. To prepare future-ready learners, learning, not teaching, must serve as the focal point for action. Throughout the pages of the book, I offer readers a compelling picture of a future-ready learner. In each chapter, I present practical approaches to create enriching experiences that feed students’ minds, curiosity, and aspirations. The impetus of the book is to encourage all educators to motivate and exhilarate learners from kindergarten year to senior year so that we prepare youngsters for life beyond high school. We know that we can’t reserve the most joyful learning experiences for the elementary grades; middle and high school students crave these opportunities too. At the same time, discussions about what students want to be when they grow up can’t wait until high school.
The Four Touchstones
This book introduces four touchstones to help readers reimagine their work (figure I.1, page 2). A touchstone is a standard or criterion by which something is judged, and it serves as a barometer for assessing the quality of the work educators do. Each touchstone provides a method and means to enable students to function well in school, the workplace, and life. The point is to initiate meaningful changes that lead to better opportunities for students. The touchstone model is a fitting construct for K–12 teachers, administrators, counselors, curriculum coaches, and professional development coordinators who are on a mission to prepare future-ready learners.
Figure I.1: The four touchstones of future-ready learning.
In This Book
Chapter 1 lays the foundation for the book by taking a deep look at a new paradigm of schooling. Included in this chapter are adjustments to teaching and learning that reflect what’s happening technologically, socially, economically, and globally. As you’ll discover in chapter 1, every institution in society is facing a reset. You’ll be reminded of the economic realities students face when they leave high school and how these realities have shifted our responsibilities.
Chapter 2 examines the first touchstone: implementing innovative practices. Innovation occurs when we try something new (invention) or make an existing practice better (reinvention). Through fluid thinking, we can solve novel instructional challenges independent of any methods used in the past. While pockets of innovation have always existed in schools, this touchstone focuses on the disruptive practices that spawn new ideas and unforgettable experiences. This chapter introduces approaches from outside education to broaden readers’ perspectives. The emphasis of this chapter is to help readers take students to levels of learning they never thought possible.
Chapter 3 delves into the elements of building a strengths-based culture and how a growth mindset feeds it. As educators foster students’ strengths, interests, talents, and leadership potential, learners feel valued and successful. Within this touchstone are common language strategies and vignettes that propel teams toward a strengths-based environment. This chapter presents methods to fit various settings to allow readers to tap into what’s already in place in their own building or district.
Chapter 4 investigates pathways to designing personalized experiences. Personalization refers to instruction that is paced to learner needs and preferences. This touchstone focuses on instruction becoming something we do with students, rather than to students. Crucial questions along with authentic examples offer readers insights
