With the rapid pace of change in technology and our environment, what will the future look like in the next five years? Do we have the essential skills and mindset to tackle the fundamentals and remain relevant? H360 offers viewpoints from an educator, student, parent and working professional to four possible scenarios of the future.

Halogen360: Parents and educators alike often ask: “How can education change with the times, how do students cope with the increasing workload and what knowledge is key for the years ahead?” S. Manogaran, executive director of the Academy of Singapore Teachers shares why it is important to lay the foundation of a strong character, as education changes with the times.

S.Manogaran: “The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.” This was the prophesy of Sir Winston Churchill in a speech at Harvard University in 1943. And how right he was!

From time immemorial, education has always been about developing the character, much less the mind. Witness the early schools started by the various religious organisations around the world throughout history. However, the Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century spawned the growth of schools as we know them today, dictated by the engineering philosophy of Frederick Taylor. Taylor’s principles of scientific management may still ring a bell or gongs of approval by some people.

The modern school system, founded on the principles of efficiency and mass customisation, aimed to produce workers who could function efficiently, not necessarily effectively, on the factory floor. A good worker was one who complied with instructions and produced the necessary output to serve the profit motive of the company.  You need not be a ‘thinking’ worker. Thinking was the preserve and privilege of the few leaders at the top who were known mysteriously as ‘management’.

Fast forward to 2012. The political, economic, social and technological shifts over the last 50 years have created havoc to how society was organised, led and educated. The twin drivers of globalisation and technology have had far greater impact on human society than at any time in history. Most fundamentally for education, the Taylorian principles now appear like the ruins in Greece and Rome—relics of the past to be studied by historians and to be preserved and admired in heritage centres!

To navigate the challenges of the present and future work place, our students will require several qualities, chief among which include a strong sense of self confidence, self-directedness and a penchant to learn, relearn and upgrade their knowledge and skills. Above all, our students must be anchored in the ethos and values of integrity, trust and respect for others.

It is interesting that in 2008, Howard Gardner published “5 Minds for the Future” where he focussed on three intellectual qualities: The Disciplinary, Synthesising and Creative Minds and two Character Minds: The Respectful and Ethical Minds. All that is expected of our students will apply to our teachers as well!

Churchill and Gardner may have lived at different times but they definitely agree on the importance of the power of knowledge, built on the foundation of strong character.

Halogen360: Many questions confront the youth of today, chief among them are: “What do I want to be when I grow up? and “how do I get there?” A Halogen Foundation volunteer, 17-year-old Jamie Seah from Hwa Chong Institution, shares her aspirations and philosophy for the future.

Jamie Seah: Many a time I have ruminated upon the future — my university and career prospects, places that I have yet to visit with my family, and above all, whether I will possess the capability in a year’s time to conquer the ‘A’ level examinations. To be entirely honest, I have no idea where I am headed in a few years’ time. The future is a behemoth, no doubt, and I am certainly apprehensive.

I have found myself wishing for time to speed up and propel me into college-hood, lamenting the vast differences between life now and the relatively more enjoyable days of before. But upon further deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that it is pointless to dwell on the past, but it is also equally unproductive to spend too much time thinking of the future. The danger of the latter lies in the fact that one can become too preoccupied with indulging in aimless thought or over-stressing oneself with regards to future predicaments. I have decided that I will cross the bridge when I get to it.

A friend once commented that I should not burn myself out while trying to get things done. According to her, I have