Futurists are scientists or social scientists who look ahead to the future of what might be possible. They don't necessarily try to predict the future. No one can do that. But they do explore the possibilities of how current realities might lead to future developments in any and all areas of life.
Futurists believe in progress. They believe there is more to be done, that we can expand our capacity, that we can solve some of the most pressing problems of today. Of course, they also warn of what might happen if we don't address some of the potential problems of the future.
Years ago, Harvard Professor Edward Banfield described a study in his book Unheavenly Cities related to factors that best predicted individual's upward social mobility and economic prosperity. He expected factors like family background, intelligence, connections, race, or some other fixed characteristic to be most influential.
But what he found surprised him. The greatest factor related to future productivity and success was what he termed "long-term perspective." Writer Brian Tracy describes Banfield's findings:
He said that men and women who were the most successful in life and the most likely to move up economically were those who took the future into consideration with every decision they made in the present. He found that the longer the period of time a person took into consideration while planning and acting, the more likely it was that he would achieve greatly during his career.The importance of long-term thinking makes sense to me. We are faced on a daily basis with decisions to do what is easiest in the short-term or do what's best in the long-term. Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do and having the courage to do it.
But it's more than delayed gratification and self-discipline. It is also having a vision for what the future will demand. It's thinking like a futurist. It's being forward-thinking and reflecting on how a changing world will impact my world, the way I live, and work, and interact.
It's also important for educators and schools to have a long-term perspective. In my upcoming book, Future Driven: Will Your Students Thrive In An Unpredictable World? I challenge educators to reflect on their own perspective.
Schools should be less like time capsules and more like time machines. The time capsule approach only protects the status quo. It assumes the way we have taught in the past is good enough for today's students too. The time capsule teacher wants to remind us of everything in the past and wants to filter everything in the future through that. To be blunt, the time capsule teacher is stuck in the past.
But the time machine teacher wants to transcend the current reality. When you think about stories involving time machines, they typically involve using time travel to solve a problem or impact a destiny. They involve a hero's journey.
In this case, I am suggesting that time machine teachers want to create a better future. They have a long term perspective. Even though they can't literally visit the future, they are future driven. They are pushing forward and living in the emerging future.
We are living in a rapidly changing, complex world. Our students will need a future driven education to be ready for the challenges they will face.
Educators make the biggest impact in a place where the future and the present collide. A future focus, combined with action today, has the greatest potential to produce positive change. We need to have a long-term perspective and so do our students. We have to model that for them and cause them to think in those terms.
The place where today meets tomorrow is where you can make the greatest difference as an educator. Your impact will depend on your perspective and your actions.
I expect Future Driven to be released in a matter of weeks. It will challenge your perspective. It will help you increase your capacity for positive change. It describes how to become a time machine teacher and how to create a future driven school.
I don't want to jump through hoops. I don't want to go through the motions. I never want to waste precious time. I want to do my part to create a brighter future. I believe most educators want the same. You are building futures every day.
Question: What are ways our schools are time capsules, stuck in the past? What are you doing to move forward and have a long-term perspective? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below or respond on Facebook or Twitter.
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