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The Future of Learning www.MarkTreadwell.com
Dedication
To my wonderful parents (Laurie and Johanna), sisters (Linda, Julia and Alison) and brother-in- law (Ian), along with my two daughters, Danielle and Juliana (young women now), my heartfelt thanks to you all, as you each provide a unique lens through which to view the possibilities of life. Every generation has so much to live for, while simultaneously experiencing their own challenges as we each navigate our way in a world of beauty and love, that is globally tested by terror and fear. Each generation carves out their own place in this turbulent and exciting world, in their own way, achieving that journey on their own terms. To be alive is a blessing played out on the most extraordinary stage ever created, where we are simultaneously both actor and audience.
This resource is a synthesis and distillation of numerous educators’ and researcher’s knowledge, ideas, concepts and frameworks that they have presented via their research, videos, blogs, Twitter accounts, books and conversations. To list all of those who have contributed, either accidently or intentionally, would quadruple the size of this resource. My thanks to you all. I would particularly like to acknowledge, Sarah, Chris and Kirsty and the team at Stonefields School in Auckland, New Zealand, for their vision, willingness to experiment, and their drive to test the limits of what our young learners are capable of, and just like our universe, every educator and learner’s capacity seems to expand in ways that are both unexpected and almost limitless!
It is my hope that this resource will contribute to the greater understanding of learning and increase the engagement, excitement and the passion of all educators and learners. The role of the teacher is morphing into one where we become educator-learners; a challenging task, with many aspects of school now required to be realigned to meet the needs of our changing world. This mission, should you accept it, is to make those transitions that are now required in our profession, while simultaneously assisting students to morph into learner-educators’ in a world where we all live a life of curiosity and intrigue, driving our desire to understand the extraordinary world we inhabit.
I am particularly indebted to educator-learners and learner-educators in New Zealand schools, without whom none of this resource would be possible. My thanks also to the global contingent for their input and enthusiasm, and allowing me to trial so many ideas with you. I sometimes feel as though this resource is simply a collection of stolen goods that I have pickpocketed from you all, while you were distracted by the magic of what you do. Hopefully this resource is in some way, me returning those goods back to you in a different form.
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I remember, as a child does, reading an Aesop’s fable when I was seven years old, about the sun and the wind battling to see who could remove a man’s coat as he struggled home. The wind, with its ferocity and power tried in vain to remove the coat, but, despite all its strength, it was unable to do so. When the sun took its turn, it simply did what it does, gently providing warmth, and in time the man removed his coat by choice and he looked up and thanked the sun. A lesson for all of us. In these times of rapid change, we need encouragement to make the necessary transitions in our practice to ensure that both we and the learners in our care, are prepared for the world we all live in. We choose our own internal emotional and attitudinal weather to the changes we are confronted with, as well as how we view ourselves and others, as we each create our unique edition of the extraordinary world we all share.
Mark Treadwell (2017) mark@work.co.nz