Future Flourishing: Preparing Students for the Workplace

When thinking about flourishing students, educators need to focus on both now and in the future. Our school's strategic planning team is considering the phrase ... "students will flourish now and in tomorrow's world." This dual-focused objective is quite a challenge, in fact, a true BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) as Collins and Porras described in their book, Built to Last (2004).

Future-Focused Flourishing

Backward design (UbD, Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) is a common educational structure that encourages teachers to think teleologically; essentially, first consider the end result and then design learning experiences that best achieve that result. We need to do that also with student flourishing.

Being future-focused about flourishing is vital, especially as students enter an ever-changing world. What does a flourishing person look like in tomorrow's world? What do schools need to focus on in order to help students flourish in the future? I'll guarantee it is different than what schools focused in the past (and even currently).

An additional challenge is that future flourishing involves many spheres ... flourishing in the workplace, flourishing in the home, flourishing in the community (and more). To truly thrive in life, a person must flourish in all spheres.

This article will discuss how schools can prepare students to flourish in the future workplace.

The Workplace

An aspect of education must prepare students for work. Academically, schools (especially high schools) prepare students to be admitted into college. Logically, schools prepare students to enter colleges; colleges, then, prepare students with the content/skills needed to enter the workplace. Unfortunately, college-prep high schools often neglect "work preparation" hiding behind the "college-prep" mantra. High schools also need to focus on work prep, or a better term, "calling prep." Students should be considering their vocation (calling) early in their middle school or high school education ... and then charting a path to facilitate flourishing within that calling.

Additionally, employers are longing for employees with soft skills that are becoming more important than content knowledge. What are the "soft skills" needed to flourish in the workplace? I truly believe our workplace standards have been lowered, but here are just a few essential qualities that will help students be successful in the workplace:

• Show up (on time). Employers are frustrated by employees who don't show up or show up late. Just show up on time, and you will distinguish yourself in the workplace. Okay, that is a low bar, but the more I talk with employers, the more I hear of this frustration.
• Be Learning Centered. Employees are stepping into an ever-changing world of work, and many current jobs will be unrecognizable in the future. Therefore, flourishing employees will be life-long learners who are able to adapt and change to meet the changing workplace climate.
• Collaborate well with colleagues. Every employer and employee expresses frustration with colleagues who don't "play nice" with others. Collaboration will always be on the top of the "soft skills" needed to flourish in the workplace.
• Care about the Company. Employees who believe in the mission and overall success of the company will work diligently to accomplish goals, strive to be innovative to improve efficiency and effectiveness, treat customers in such a way to build long term relationships, and will refrain from wasting resources that will impact the bottom line.

So what elements or learning experiences are needed in school to prepare students to flourish in the workplace?

• Learning Focused. While this sounds like something that schools will naturally develop; few schools are truly learning focused. Most schools teach students how to "play school" to get the grade at the detriment of true learning. Schools must re-emphasize (non-graded) curiosity research, discovery learning, and learning expeditions. 
• Calling Identification. Students need to identify their strengths/gifts/interests and explore how to use these in different workplaces. This can be done through interest inventories, skill assessments, and personality/strengths identification, along with job shadows, career days, and internships. Identifying strengths and how they fit into the workplace will help students identify colleges/vocational training and be more content as future employees as they uncover where they "fit" in the sphere of work.
• Attendance Matters. Dealing with student attendance is a frustrating aspect of most school administrators, but encouraging students to understand the importance of attendance (i.e. just show up and get to class on time) will help them flourish in the workplace. Future employers will thank you for instilling this low-bar objective of attendance.
• Teamwork Development. Classrooms today are very individualistic and competitive as students strive for high honors of gpa/class rank, leaving their fellow students behind. Similarly, a lower percentage of students are participating in collaborative activities as athletic teams become more competitive and recreational activities are more individualistic. Students need to be placed in collaborative learning situations to grow in their teamwork skills; these can be inside the classroom, in leadership programs, in clubs, or on athletic teams. This will help them flourish in the workplace.
• Innovative and Entrepreneurship Thinking. Flourishing workplaces are filled with innovative employees who problem-solve with entrepreneurship thinking. Employees must be able to identify problems, come up with creative solutions, and implement those action steps to achieve a desired result. Problem-based learning must be a part of education at all levels to encourage flourishing employees.

This is just a start, but hopefully a good step forward in thinking about how schools can help students flourish in their future workplaces.

Flourishing Defined

Flourish / flourishing is a new educational "buzzword" being used to describe a healthy learning environment and a positive educational experience for students. It is a term that my school is using in discussing our next strategic plan ... how can our school and each student flourish now and in tomorrow's world? ... but what does it mean to flourish?

Unfortunately, educational leaders are known for using "buzzwords" that are often insufficiently defined and nebulous, and, therefore, difficult to implement and assess. For example, individual educators have their own definitions of the following terms: differentiation, learning styles, discovery learning, deeper learning, life skills, 21st Century learning, and formative assessment (just to name a few). A clear definition is needed to effectively operationalize these terms and the term "flourish."

Defining Flourish / Flourishing

I love the term "flourish" to describe a thriving school or student (and the more I research this term, the more I like it), but what does it mean to "flourish" as a school? as a student? 

Oxford's online dictionary (www.lexico.com) defines "flourish" as

Flourish (verb).  grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.

What a great way to describe a school! A flourishing school is a "particularly favorable environment" where students can "grow ... in a healthy or vigorous way." While this is encouraging to think of a school in this definition, it still doesn't define what it means for students and schools to flourish.

Another way to think about the term "flourish" is in relationship to plants. Soil, climate, water, fertilizer, and the gardener all impact how the plant grows; metaphorically, each of those elements can apply to a school and how a student grows.

Flourishing Schools Model

Dr. Lynn Swaner and the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) have developed an instrument that measures school "flourishing." This excellent research helps us to better define and apply this term. The categories used in their research focus on the following areas: 

• Purpose
• Relationships
• Well-Being
• Learning Orientation
• Expertise and Resources

By clicking on the categories (see link below the graphic), each of the categories are defined with areas of application. See more information about their work at ... https://www.acsi.org/flourishing-school-culture

Not wanting to just repeat the good work done by ACSI, I want to spend the rest of this blog looking at flourishing in light of another educational buzzword ... whole child education.

Whole Child Flourishing

Student flourishing occurs best when parents, teachers, and schools focus on a student's whole being. Unfortunately, we see more and more examples of students who are not flourishing because they only have one focus. Like a baseball player who blows out his shoulder due to "over-pitching," focusing solely on one area of development will be detrimental to the whole person. 

Our western educational system is heavily influenced by a Greek philosophy that is focused primarily on head knowledge ... and this sole focus has led to high schools around the country filled with stressed out students, walking their halls anxious about grades, high-stakes standardized tests, and college acceptances. This is not a flourishing student. 

In contrast a Hebraic philosophy in education focuses more on the whole child, a student becoming like her teacher in maturity, character, and wisdom, and understanding truth about themselves, others, and the world. Whole child education definitely looks toward academic excellence and cognitive development, but it is only one of areas of focus.

Without taking the time to fully define whole child education, students (and schools) will flourish if parents and educators partner in successfully addressing each of the following categories. The home-school partnership is key for students to flourish.

Cognitive 

Of course, schools focus on cognitive (academic) development and most educational research measures effectiveness of pedagogy and student learning. Learning effectiveness could be defined as flourishing cognitively. Quite simply, students flourish academically when taught by teachers who care passionately for both the student and the content area. This dual-focused caring will drive teachers (and schools) to pursue student learning and cognitive flourishing. 

Cognitive development happens outside of school, and I'm not talking about structured homework time (which can help the school learning). However, parents who abdicate cognitive development completely to the school, do not help students flourish. Parents must fan the spark of curiosity at home, read to/with their child, plan learning experiences along with vacations, discuss current events, and actively discuss life decisions with their children; this will facilitate flourishing.

Social-Emotional

Schools are an active learning lab for students to grow and develop socially and emotionally. Because all students in this SEL"lab" are still developing, this can be filled with hard lessons ... how do I respond when someone is mean? How do I move on from a dating relationship, especially when I still see the person every day? What do I do when I can't get along with a classmate? Schools, in the past, have approached these issues from a "laissez faire" perspective, but more and more schools are realizing the importance of intentionally teaching a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, training teachers how to walk alongside students in social-emotional situations. Schools are adopting SEL curricula and character education initiatives, testing organizations are developing SEL measurements (eg. ACT Tessera), and states are creating standards because in order to flourish as a whole person, students need to develop socially and emotionally.

Parents must partner in this area also, recognizing that social-emotional growth often comes through difficulty, helping to develop character traits of grit, resilience, perseverance, and teaching/modeling coping strategies. The home learning should include time management, balance, rest, along with kindness, care-taking, and responsibilities. In some cases, students also deal with mental illness and anxiety that should be addressed by a counselor or psychiatrist. If social emotional development is  addressed and reinforced at home, students are more likely to be successful navigating the school dynamic.

Creative

Those who believe in a creator-God, as I do, understand the pre-eminence of this characteristic. Students are created in God's image (imago dei) and the first characteristic we see displayed by God is creativity. We see creativity in every sunrise, blooming flower, and insect; therefore, schools need to identify and honor these gifts by encouraging students to create. Creativity can also include "gap thinking" where students identify creative and innovative solutions to address real needs.

Creativity can be developed outside of school also. Parents can look for creative outlets and encourage creation (instead of purely consumption) in recreation, play, and entertainment. Using one's own gifts to create something for another is one of the greatest ways to image our Creator and encourage whole child flourishing.

Physical

In the pursuit of higher test scores, physical activity, recess/play, and athletics has moved to the back-burner, with many schools cutting these programs. However, research supports the benefits of physical activity in both social-emotional development and academic achievement. Even if a student doesn't have a PE class, taking breaks in the class to stretch, move, and exercise will lead to better whole child health and academic engagement.

Schools used to be the primary vehicle for physical education; however, more schools are dropping those classes for more "academic" electives. Physical activity must be a part of home life and learning. Exercise releases endorphins, a "feel good" chemical, that helps people flourish by having a more positive outlook about self and situations. Students involved in club or recreational sports get physical activity through these programs, but many students are sedentary while at home. Encouraging simple routines of walking the dog, yard work, and morning stretching/yoga will help students flourish at school and in life.

Spiritual

A taboo topic in education is the importance of spiritual development. Public schools cannot endorse a specific religion's beliefs or practices, but they can address spiritual elements of reflection/meditation, sabbath rest, times of silence, seeking wisdom from transcendent texts, singing, and service. Of course, private, religious schools can focus on faith formation in a specific religion, and in this element of whole child education, religious schools have such an advantage.

With our western perspective of individualized religious expression, many parents are hesitant to "force" their religious beliefs onto their children. Therefore, students are given the freedom to decide about religious practices and choose not to participate. This has been detrimental to student flourishing. Students need "church" in order to flourish (see my previous blog for more on this topic). Spiritual development should be emphasized at home, in the family's religious beliefs. This will provide students, at the very least, with a community to belong, a place in a grand story, and an otherness (rather than egocentric) perspective.

With the elements above, partnership is essential ... parents/families working together with educators/schools to help student flourish.

Hopefully, this blog has clarified this new educational buzzword of flourishing. Stay tuned ... there is much more to discuss with flourishing and whole child education.