In an interesting interview, William Gibson, popular American-Canadian science fiction writer once stated “The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.”
If you have not planned to succeed, then you have planned to fail. This version of the famous Benjamin Franklin quote “If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail” is perhaps one of the classic lines most Nigerian students hear from their teachers when exams are around the corner.
But what about beyond exams? What about the future? For short term events like examinations or sporting competitions, more often than not, the requirements for adequate preparation is clear and even linear. However, when faced with the prospect of an uncertain future in a fast changing world, all of a sudden, what exactly we need to do to avoid being left behind becomes a lot more complex.
In an interesting interview, William Gibson, popular American-Canadian science fiction writer once stated “The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.” The notion behind this timeless nugget of wisdom is simple; at any moment in time, trends that lead to the future are already visible even if not available to the masses in any given population. For example, it isn’t a surprise that Nikola Tesla (inventor of hydroelectric technology and the Alternating Current transmission model) and Thomas Edison (prolific inventor and advocate of the Direct Current model) were both investing time and research into electricity transmission while other inventors were busy with mechanical machinery. In their time, these men knew electricity was the future and they invested their time and effort in it.
Today, the same trend can be identified in so many industries. A small group within a population discover where the trend is heading, and they align themselves with it for the future. For example, the average web developer is employable in every economy, but a bare ten years ago, few Nigerian parents would have pushed their child towards learning computing as opposed to traditional career options like medicine and engineering.
At Lifeforte International School, we believe it is the job of a sound educator to be aware of the options available to children in the future so as to enact preparation as early as possible. In many countries today, the ability for children to be able to write and understand basic computer code is now being considered an essential part of literacy. With automation design, artificial intelligence and biotechnology on the rise, fields like robotics and computing will only grow to provide the employment opportunities of the future.
To meet these needs and other related needs of an evolving world, Lifeforte ensures a range of extracurricular learning activities to expose our students to concepts they are likely to confront in the future. This helps them discover what they might have innate talents for by exposing them to an array of options to stimulate their curiosity. It is our hope that with so much available in terms of resource and guidance, each child is able to discover and manifest their God given capabilities to better prepare them for utilizing their talents for the future.
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