Pathways for the Future of Learning
A weekend walkshop on the St.Davids coastline for education pioneers, imagining ways to make learning fit for future generations. 6–8 Dec ‘24.
There’s wide acceptance of the shift in insight, ambition and delivery that’s needed if young people are to step into the future with the best tools to shape a world that regenerates the resilience and capacity of the living systems that support us. Education innovator Dr. Morgan Phillips and I are hosting this weekend ‘Walkshop’ of purposeful conversation, connection, and scheming possibilities with strolls on the coast path, sand boards on beaches, meetings in cafes, and drinks in pubs on the weekend of 6–8 December 2024. Do join us.
Some of the children born in the future to today’s kindergarten learners could still be alive in 2150 — a hundred and twenty-five years from now. When they pause to think about it, teachers and parents love the idea of thinking long term and realise how little attention they’ve spent on doing that so far. Together, we could explore what it will take to ensure that insightful long-term thinking becomes the norm, with all education taking the actions that our grandchildren’s children would ask us to say yes to into account in every policy we design.
In the process of developing the BiRD Quest at the Green School in Bali, the new biomimicry for regenerative design lab and learning journey that I’ve had the privilege of working on with Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. Denise DeLuca and colleagues, the power that is released when generational and beyond-human thinking makes its way into learner conversations is clear to see. What experiences and inputs might we deisng to ensure that multi-species awareness and thinking becomes part of all education?
Some of the other questions that Morgan and I are interested in include:
- How would know if today’s education was fit for tomorrow’s needs?
- What are we seeing around us that’s the best indicators of the future we’re hoping for?
- In what ways can we help what works spread fast enough to meet the challenges ahead?
- If we couldn’t fail, what would learning co-design look like with teachers, future generations, nature, health and business equally at the table?
Hundreds of organisations and thousands of schools are pioneering great work but the sum total of ambition and impact — a few hundred Fellows here, projects that reach 3% of schools there, or nurturing 1000 Innovation Leaders — are all good, but have collectively failed to trigger or deliver anything like the scale of insight or change that’s needed. The sum of ambition and plans nowhere near matches what’s coming.
We’re interested in the conversations that will help teachers, heads, and education leaders in government, community and business shift their thinking to say YES to the future that’ll help young people thrive, and a firm NO to the choices that do the opposite.
The Walkshop Weekend is a gathering, not a conference and it’s free of any overhead costs. Here’s the lowdown:
Friday 6 Dec: Check into the accommodation you’ve booked then meet at The Bishops in St. Davids from 8.00pm for pub food and welcome conversations. If you’d like to meet earlier, let us know.
Saturday 7 Dec: Breakfast at The Mill Cafe then a morning of walks or cafe conversations. Lunch at The Sloop in Porthgain and late afternoon sense-making in St. Davids. Swimming for the keen and accessible options too. Dinner and refreshments at Grain.
Sunday 8 Dec: Morning fuelling and coffee at The Mill or your B&B then walk on Whitesands to sketch our ideas in sand and time. Late lunch then depart for homeward journeys around 14.00.
Accommodation: book a room with our partners at Whitesands Beach Cottages, bring your van or choose a own local AirBnB, B&B or hotel.
Cost: free, but you’ll need to pay for your own accommodation, food, and drinks.
More information: email andy.middleton@me.com or hello@morganhopephillips.com
