It’s remarkable in a digital age where the world is light years ahead of life in the 18th century that a fundamental cultural institution hasn’t changed its core mission substantially since the Industrial Revolution.
What we know as public education, from pre - school to college, has helpe d elevate life and the collective standard of living in astounding ways over the past 200 years. Its guiding vision has remained virtually unchanged: prepare human beings to, essentially, get a job and earn a living; to become living generators in the powe rful engines that keep the world’s economies humming.
But as the world grapples with environmental and social crises, is it time for public education to again elevate the common good by refocusing its mission and raising its sights to see human possibility as more than just economic assets? Imagine a ‘school’ where a learning ecosystem helps liberate natural intelligence and capacity for creative, regenerative, and sustainable life. A whole - person, whole - planet educational experience that supports the purpo ses of life and living.
In this Portals conversation, global educators Karol Wilczynska and Orla Kelleher share their vision for the future of education, along with practical steps to help transform the school learning experience into a regenerative force for humanity. Among their ideas and perceptions:
This conversation is part of the continuing Portals discovery into what is emerging on the frontiers of human experience in this time of profound change. Information about upcom ing special events can be found on the Events page. Also visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
“What has happened is that there are hubs around the world in which people can at any time walk in and develop whatever skills or whatever knowledge that they require because they have chosen to go there, because they know that it is free for them to attend.” (Karol)
“When people realize that they can start to choose the qualities that they have as leaders, that they can build an inner compass, that they can start to set their principles, something that will keep them to account. What gives me joy is when that begins to happen and then the growth I see, and it's not just the growth in them, it's the growth that happens in their team. When they share with me how the team is transforming, how there's this new life, this new energy, it causes a renewal.” (Orla)
“Because typically the purpose of education and up until today it's begun to shift because of the global crises, but the purpose of education since it became mainstream, which is the time of the Industrial Revolution, is to get a job, to be an effective eco nomic unit.” (Orla)
“So, when they start learning individual topics as they choose to go into these different areas of education, they soon realize that their tutors are telling them, you need to be observant. You need to take note of what is happening ar ound you. You need to write this down. You need to take account of everything that you're thinking of. And how are you going to then embed that into what you’re doing?” (Karol)
“I remember a workshop that I was involved with that was bringing in design leaders from around New Zealand, and there was this big workshop that was, Can you find a way to describe what you love to do? That was the first question, which kind of like floore d all the students, who were all third - year students, and they were going," We don't understand what you're asking us," which was quite funny in itself, and then the next one was, "What do you want to do that will not cause harm?" That was the second quest ion, and it was interesting that love and cause no harm were the most important aspects that were discussed.” (Karol)
“How can we come up to new ways of governing that we know is going to preserve the environmental health and wellbeing of those countries? And how do we take into account the various different dynamics in terms of justice, in terms of fairness, in terms of the various different exigencies and crises? And those young leaders are being tasked to look at new ways and the central premise of, let ’s say, where they get rewarded, is if they can find new ways of governing that will be a step forward.” (Orla)
https://academics.aut.ac.nz/karol.wilczynska