When I was a teenager, the future my parents strongly suggested that with a good education and a university degree I could get a better paid job.

In the 21 century is this still the case?

The students that are in my class today will not only have multiple careers, they are living in a time that is experiencing exponential change. Technology was once viewed as enabling us to have more leisure time as automated machines replaced manual labour tasks and supposedly gave us time that was not ordinary available to us.

Technology today is a source of great stimulation and gives us live and global connections. It's easy to be connected 24/7 and this can be quite the opposite of having more leisure time. Technology is a tool created and developed by people to enable humans to work more productively. Twentieth century technology impacted on our lives and learning differently to the learning with technology today - which brings with it many challenges. We should have more control over our learning with the boundaries of time, space, age and wealth becoming less of a barrier. In 2017 Richard Branson asked “What do you wish you learned in school?” - content knowledge has become less important and it is the essential skills that we develop throughout our lives that we now recognise as valuable. Leadership, emotional intelligence, time management, mental health, coding, nutrition, public speaking and kindness were few of the responses to Branson’s question. In our education system, there are opportunities to develop these skills, however, our level of achievement continues to be measured against a grading system that seldom recognises these skills. Many of these skills are difficult to measure and mastering any one of these essential skills can take a lifetime.

Project X is a newly introduced course at St Margaret's College. This programme specifically recognises the value of these essential skills. Now in its second year, we have classes at level 1 and 2. This course has been designed to support students to develop the skills that employers seek. Individuals choose an inquiry topic that they are passionate about and this drives the students to reach their goals. Through this process, students learn by using their cross-curricular knowledge and applying problem-solving, communication and organisational skills in their project.

Are we preparing our students for their future? Well, what I do know, is that teachable moments are treasured when I can help my students make links to situations that forearm them for what they may face beyond my class and into the future.

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” – Peter Drucker