Luke Johnson, author of a column called "The Entrepreneur" in the Financial Times and chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, wrote a thoughtful piece yesterday (February 16, 2011) that prompted me to think once again about the role that independent school curricula and structures play in the nurturing of students' attitudes and expectations vis-a-vis their eventual workplace experiences. In particular, I wonder how we are instilling the notions of flexibility and adaptation in their mindsets? After all, their workplaces and jobs will be different from the generations that have gone before them.
Johnson writes, "I have always been transfixed by those who lead multiple careers. They are the ones who refuse to be typecast but instead break convention by embracing a variety of roles, sometimes simultaneously, more often consecutively. [...They switch] vocations and accumul[ate] new skills as they go, achieving great feats across different disciplines. Undoubtedly one of the true joys of being an entrepreneur is that you are not trapped in one stifling occupation but are free to roam."
Yes, he does substantiate that "domain knowledge" is "essential to excel in any calling," but he suggests that the ability to put aside fear and cast aside "all that training, those qualifications, networks and reference points" is something that we should pursue as a "fundamental goal."
In other words, it's about having a mindset that is different from that to which we were most often exposed while growing up. Carol Dweck, of course, has written and spoken much regarding her work in exploring the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.
So, to return to independent school curricula, where are we revamping our curricula to address the "mindset deficiency", or, in other words, to provide space for an entrepreneurial mindset to grow? Where might we begin? How do we maintain that link between what has been perceived traditionally as "rigorous" and what we might term as "vigorous" in regards to preparation for life, a skill which is doubtless just as important as academic formation?
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