Most of us are familiar with the company Gallup from the polling they do for US Presidential elections. Since Presidential elections only occur every four years, the company is also involved in forecasting other activities including economic and GDP growth. One of the topics that made headlines recently is their prediction about the coming war for good jobs.
Jim Clifton, the Chairman of the Gallup Company, pointed out some interesting statistics regarding the future of the world’s jobs. Based on the company’s research, he notes that there are 7 billion people on earth. Of this 7 billion, 3 billion would like a “good job.” Unfortunately, there are currently only 1.2 billion “good jobs” in the world that pay a decent rate and operate under safe working conditions.
This is a worrying statistic for our children. As the world globalizes, more and more people are competing for fewer and fewer jobs. And the competition will only intensify within the next few years.
As parents, we are responsible to prepare our children to be competitive for these jobs. But how? What skills should we be teaching our children today to help them secure find a job in the future?
According to Laszlo Bock, the Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, the single most important skill they look for in successful employees is not a high GPA or test score; It is the ability to “learn.” And since Google is setting the standard for creating and filling “good jobs,” Bock’s idea should not be ignored.
Teaching your child to “learn” is actually a difficulty proposition, especially when standardized tests are the main focus in today’s educational system. However, the summer is an excellent time to encourage your child to learn to “learn,” and Brain Chase is the perfect system to facilitate this process.
The educational experiences within Brain Chase are designed to allow participants to explore areas that they find interesting, without worrying about being tested on them. For example, within the weekly math assignment, participants are required to earn 10,000 “energy points” at Khan Academy. However, kids are free to choose what they want to learn and can select from a wide range of options including grade level math, computer programming, or economics. By allowing participants to self-direct their own learning, we are showing them how to “learn.”
We take a similar approach with our reading requirements. The only restriction we put on participants is that they have to read electronic books within the myON digital library. With over 6,100 books available to choose from, participants should have no problem discovering something that they love and want to “learn” about.
Because of the desire we have for our children to grow up and one day land a “good job,” we need to facilitate opportunities to discover the joys of learning. This summer’s Brain Chase adventure is an excellent opportunity for your children to prepare for the future by learning to “learn.”