This document discusses ways to better educate students for an uncertain future. It proposes cultivating in students a passion for the unknown through initiatives like including curiosity in hiring practices and mission statements. It suggests becoming recognized as the best in specific areas by focusing on continuous improvement and recognizing excellence can be defined differently in various communities. It also advocates encouraging multi-expertise through options like double majors and inter-departmental qualifications. Finally, it proposes promoting futuristic thinking through initiatives like initiating futuristic think tanks and infusing futurist studies into curriculums.

1. Educating forthe Unknown

2. David Perkins, Harvard

3. ‘Basic’ Requirements
• 3Rs’
• Web / M-Technology
• Teamwork / Collaboration
• Listening / Empathy
• Green-ery
• Creativity
• “Spirituality”
• Etc., etc., etc.

5. #1 Long for Adventure
(or Love the Unknown)

7. “Our task is to educate their our
students’ whole being so they can
face the future. We may not see
the future, but they will and our
job is to help them make
something of it.”
Sir Ken Robinson

8. Bloom’s Taxonomy :
The Affective Domain

9. How do we nurture a
passion for the unknown?
• Include into KPI? Mission Statement?
• ‘Curiosity’ as a key hiring / HR element?
• Personal time to research ‘new’ areas?
• “Super Idea” Week / Month?
• Projects over exams? P2P assessment as
dominant?
• ‘Every-student-a-teacher’ motifs?
• Critical Questioning skills to be compulsory?
• Curiosity 101 modules?
• What else?

10. #2 Bring Maximum Supplies
(or Be the “Best in the World”)

11. “There are a gazillion things,
a gazillion truly different and
differentiated thing, a gazillion
things of genuine value, to be
the best in the world at.”
Quoted by Seth Godin

12. “Best in the world just refers to the world of your
community in that moment, and best means the
thing that most appropriately fits their
worldview. In other words, you have to be the
best in the world at classical violin…you can do
great by having the innovative lecture notes in
Damansara, or being the administrator with the
most dependable filing system.
Compromise is the enemy of that. So is fear. So is
the desire to fit in or be average.”
(Alwyn Lau re-wording Seth Godin)

13. How do we become recognized
as the best in the world?
• What are we doing to become better than
‘very good’?
• How would people know we’re the best?
• Does our best ‘finds it way’ into our everyday
lives, or only professionally?
• What’s stopping us from being the best at that
‘thing’ we know we can be? Attitude? Belief?
Bad habits? Other people?!
• Etc.

14. #3 Grab an Oar, Hoist the Sail,
Wash the Desk
(or Augment Your Domains)

16. Johann Cruyff’s “Total Football”

17. How do we
encourage multi-expertise?
• Make double/triple-majors the norm?
• Have inter-departmental qualifications?
• “Credentialise” as many skills as possible?
• Charge lower for second (or third) degree of
the same level?
• Etc.?

18. #4 Use the Telescope Often
(or be an Amateur Futurist) )

21. How do we promote
futuristic thinking?
• Initiate futuristic think-tank departments? To
provide trend reports regularly?
• Include / Infuse futurist studies into
curriculum?
• Teach research in secondary schools?
• Focus on what “we don’t know we don’t
know”?
• What else?

22. “We did not come here to fear
the future.
We’re here to shape it.”
BARACK OBAMA