FROM DILIP MUKERJEA

"Genius is in-born, may it never be still-born."

"Oysters, irritated by grains of sand, give birth to pearls. Brains, irritated by curiosity, give birth to ideas."

"Brainpower is the bridge to the future; it is what transports you from wishful thinking to willful doing."

"Unless you keep learning & growing, the status quo has no status."
Showing posts with label Learning Revolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning Revolution. Show all posts

Thursday, February 26, 2009

THE LEARNING REVOLUTION

The Learning Era is upon us.

In the grand scheme of human evolution, generally accepted learning procedures have been unable to keep pace with the high-velocity transformations that most enterprises now face.

Most prevailing learning systems are still rooted firmly in the industrial era, where capital was seen as financial and physical, not intellectual.

The antiquity of our current learning systems is critical. These systems tend to perpetuate the status quo, within which, there is little status. Transforming and correcting this scenario calls for much individual resolve, and collective action.

New dimensions of learning have unfolded with stunning speed … either we move ahead, or stay dead! The preceding half-century has been defined by computer programmers, lawyers, and MBAs.

Their time is passing.

The world is waking up to the need for a fresh approach to the future. In this scenario, we will see the emergence, prominence, and dominance of an invigorating, modern consciousness, where the players are meaning makers, their collective consciousness the very pith of brilliance.

[To be continued in the Next Post. Excerpted from the 'Leadership, Learning & Laughter' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

Say Keng's personal comments:

What Dilip Mukerjea has written so eloquently is very true.

In fact, I recall vividly, way back into the early nineties, having come across the work of the American philosopher Eric Hoffer (1902-1983), who gave this small piece of great advice:

"In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."
Just reflect on the following forecasted future scenarios, which I have read not too long ago [from the book, 'What I Learned from Frogs in Texas: Saving Your Skin with Forward-Thinking Innovation' by futurist/business strategist Jim Carroll]:

- 65% of pre-school children today will be employed in careers & jobs that don't yet exist;

- most people will find themselves not only in 4 or 5 different jobs in their lifetime, but in 4 or 5 different careers;

- the half-life of an engineer 's knowledge is about 5 years, & as low as 2 to 3 years for a computer pro (*);


(*) In a separate slideshare presentation available on the net, which I can't recall the source, the presenter has mentioned that "by 2020, 1/2 of what you know in the first year (of university) will be out of date by the third year".

Sunday, February 15, 2009

WE NEED A LEARNING REVOLUTION!


Brilliance is in-born; may it never emerge still-born!

Have our education systems finally morphed into learning systems? Do they make us future-ready?

In today’s high-tech high-velocity world, the syllabus is no longer enough. Knowledge is fragmenting at speeds that make comprehension elusive. Learning what to learn is not the real challenge; we need to learn how to learn.

Brain force has trumped brute force, and the choice has become: creativity or catastrophe. There are no easy recipes for originality. Creative thinking tools are necessary for classrooms if human intelligence is to mean anything in boardrooms.

Our learning systems should be the embodiment of our cognitive and creative comprehension of ourselves. In order to cultivate imagination, along with intellect, creative thinking should be fostered in our classrooms.

To illuminate our lives, and stave off the demolition of childhood dreams, all children need to learn how the brain likes to work; instead we focus on what the brain must do in order to satisfy what was made relevant in the past! This may seem normal, but it is not natural! Normal is not natural.

Learning what to learn is normal; learning how to learn is natural . . . and unfortunately, not (yet) taught in schools!

The debate about nature versus nurture is irrelevant; we have to nurture nature! And that can only be done when ‘education’ recognizes that the engine of all learning is The Human Brain, and . . . The Human Heart!

For this, we need Learning Miracles for Children of All Ages!

Schools should become The Learning Capitals of The World!

Today, the issue is not how smart we are; it is how are we smart?

We are in the grip of a learning crisis!

Can we afford NOT to do anything about it?

[Excerpted from the BrainBabies edition of The inGenius Series of booklets by Dilip Mukerjea for baby genius ages 1 to 101. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]