What the Mindset List Means for Us

As a new school year gets underway in many places, Beloit College is again releasing its annual Mindset List about the freshman class of 2011-12.  Once one gets over the in-your-face recognition of how old we are all becoming, the Beloit list is illuminating in terms of the totally different contextual frame surrounding today's students versus, well, us (at least those of us 50 and up).  It is worth remembering this as we strategize for the future of our organizations in the education industry; in short, we are building future schools and information delivery models for people that live in a very different world from ours.  My writing style developed during a time when self-correcting typewriters like the IBM Selectric were way cool.  That writing style makes no sense in a totally digital environment.  I have adapted--a lot--but in reality my adaptations are grafted onto a less efficient skill superstructure.

Same thing with education.  What would it look like if designed from the ground up for today and tomorrow rather than yesterday and today?