Elementary school: Are we ignoring the Generation Alpha?

Generation Alpha is still in its childhood. But how fit will this generation be for the future and the challenges that come with it? Are elementary schools able to adequately prepare the next generation for new work and the associated future skills? Futurologist Monika Herrmann from moderning looks at the vision of the school of the future.

Zurich, September 2022 – In the next ten years, development will move farther ahead than it has in the last 100 years. The pace is set by the ever-growing innovations on the technology market. This will lead to numerous future trends that will have an impact on our everyday lives, our work and our ways of learning. In addition to artificial intelligence, these include an increasingly interconnected society by means of social networks that go far beyond actual communication, or a rapidly changing world of work in which new future skillsets are required. New professions, methods and work models require new skills and approaches.

As early as the late 1970s, the Austrian-American social philosopher Frithjof Bergmann presented a new way of working based on more freedom, self-determination and responsibility in his New Work manifesto. Today, the term New Work describes, among other things, a new attitude toward work and new roles for employees. Does that sound like dreams of the future? Not at all. Young start-ups in particular, but now also more and more established companies, are relying on the principle, because in times of a shortage of skilled workers, no one can afford to hold on to old ways of doing things.

Future for the school
We should be prepared for such drastic developments – and focus our attention in particular on the youngest generation: Generation Alpha (born in 2010, 2012 or 2015, depending on the definition) is the first generation to be able to use smartphones as a matter of course, even as babies and toddlers, and is already a social media user from childhood. This raises the question: Is our education system equipped for this new generation? According to futurologist Monika Herrmann of moderning, “For our elementary schools to meet the growing demands of the future and adequately prepare the next generation for the New Work market, they need to speed up.” The mission statement of the school of the future must be sustainably changed from the lower to the upper school levels and adapted to the new needs. Monika Herrmann provides a few key words in this regard: “Project-based learning or individually adapted school duration, but also integrative teaching are just a few aspects that need to be taken into account. Digital learning, as well as content like social competence and empathy on the curriculum and an environment of mutual respect are big issues that need to be addressed.” moderning does this in workshops moderated by Monika Herrmann. “We want to make schools future-proof,” she says. “The focus is placed on personality development. Consideration is also given to how the educational job profiles could be designed with a view to future-oriented educational goals. So that the school – and thus the next generation – has a future.”

For questions, interviews or further information, Monika Herrmann is at your disposal.

Contact
Sibylle Ambs
media responsible moderning
die textwerkstatt
079 484 85 00
presse@die-textwerktatt.ch