April to May is the summer vacation period in Myanmar.
Normally, this time of year is filled with events such as field trips and work-study programs, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the political unrest, it has been difficult to go out, let alone hold such events.
We didn’t want to waste this time, when students should gain important experiences that are difficult to obtain at school.
With that in mind, we held a career education program for 14 to 16-year-olds as a special summer program.
The program was called “How to become an adult who can earn money in the future”.
It was a 6-session active learning program that included lectures, brainstorming, debates, and presentations.
We fully utilized iPads, YouTube and class apps to keep the brains of all the participants spinning at high speeds and get them thinking about their own futures.
How will everyone live their lives in the future?
We started off with a class.
I explained the realities of the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) era, the rise of AI and digital transformation, the evolving labor situation in response, and the changing skills required.
In each case, I asked a difficult question with no right answer.
As the world only seen in movies becomes a reality, with automated driving, online prep schools and stores where you can just pass through the gate and automatically pay your bill, what jobs will disappear and what new ones will be created?
What role should human workers play in all this?
How will you accept living with the dizzying sense of the future?
I asked them one after another and no matter who I asked, I could never get a clear answer.
The person who teaches always knows the answer and can quickly and accurately guess it.
For children who have been taught what intelligence is all about, these kinds of questions seemed to be even more shocking than the rapidly advancing technology in society.
The assumptions on which we rely keep shifting, and there is no single best solution anywhere.
No one knows.
That is the reality, and the important thing is to keep learning and updating yourself.
I spoke with the hope that the students would realize the necessity and significance of this.
“Everyone can do it!”
The main part of the second half was group work. Each group brainstormed on a given theme, and then presented their ideas to the class, leading to a debate.
“If you were a school principal, would you introduce uniforms or plain clothes?”
“What is the point of attending a university now that there are free online classes from top universities?”
There just a few of the questions that the children were scratching their heads over as they brainstormed and debated for the first times in their lives. I could watch their minds expanding.
What I wanted the students to learn about during this project was “multi-faceted thinking”.
There are always advantages and disadvantages to everything.
Before making a decision, you should examine both sides of the story, or try to understand the perspectives of those who hold different opinions and values.
Having such thinking habits in this increasingly diverse world will be needed in the future workplace and many other areas of life.
“Everyone can do it!”
I always ended each session with these words.
Myanmar is currently in the midst of unprecedented turmoil. There is a lot of resignation and grief throughout the country.
It is not a situation where one can casually say, “The future is bright.”
However, I don’t want these children to give up on their livelihoods.
Regardless of how the world shakes out, I want them to be people who can strive for their own happiness and make sincere efforts to achieve.
We wholeheartedly believe they will be able to do just that.
Comment from a student
Taking this class has been very empowering for me. It has been very beneficial to my life.
When I first started taking this class, I wasn’t happy or interested.
In the latter half of the class, I realized that it would be beneficial for my life.
I am very happy and relived to have this kind of class.We have benefitted a lot from this class.
Our intellect, knowledge and ideas have been greatly expanded. It also gave us strength.
It has given us a future to follow.
Thank you for preparing such a class. If I get another chance, I would like to attend this wonderful class.
“Walk through the dark night with a single light. Don’t be afraid of the darkness, just rely on the light”
As I chew on the words left behind by our distinguished predecessors, I can only hope that this opportunity will serve as a beacon of hope to light the way for the children who will be stepping out into the dark night.