Are our children "innovation" ready?

Many centuries ago, Sir Francis Bacon said "Knowledge is Power". 

Today, knowledge is a given. Knowledge is everywhere, ready to drown us in its sheer depth, volume, forms and shapes. What is not known, can be googled; what is known can be shared via Facebook or Twitter, commented on via forums and blogs. One can watch YouTube videos or read summaries of books at getabstract.com. 

Why then are we still forcing our children to learn the nuggets of knowledge by rote that may not even have relevance tomorrow? Are we setting them up for failure?

Can their bright minds find any solace or happiness in mugging up facts that they can easily download? Why are we not challenging them to really think, question and build on concepts rather than recite facts?

Can we survive without innovation today?

In today's increasingly dynamic and uncertain world, on one hand, there is an explosion of new trends and technologies such as the Digital Economy, Big Data, Cloud Computing etc. On the other hand, many global companies are closing down (e.g. Nortel), global brands are becoming extinct (e.g. Kodak) and even major economies are struggling to survive. (current state of many European economies).

Tony Wagner, Harvard Education Specialist, feels that middle-class jobs would probably vanish over a period of time. Jobs will increasingly become more specialized. And the less specialized jobs will either be automated or moved to locations which can offer cost advantage or efficiency. 

Yes, choices may be plenty today and new career options have opened up which may not even have been dreamt off decades ago. But at the same time, many jobs have become obsolete. People have learnt the hard way that there may be no 'for life' companies and job security is no longer a right. Layoffs and jobcuts are realities as are double dip recession and lack of retirement savings. Thomas L. Friedman recently wrote in New York Times about the need for education reforms in a article aptly titled "Need a job? Invent it." Are our children ready to invent their jobs when they grow up?

Naysayers might well say, that great inventors such as Einstein or even Steve Jobs are born, not made. But I believe all children are born creative, imaginative and innovative. And even if one does not necessarily invent the next iPad or Facebook, one still needs to innovate. Innovation will increasingly become a life-skill for our children to deal with the rapidly changing world.

How can we help our children then? Can our children become "innovation" ready?

We need schools that encourage free play and nurture the ability to manage conflict and chaos; where children are evaluated not just on how they perform in exams but on how they solve problems, how they think of solutions and new ideas and how they collaborate with each other. We need an environment where children do not look for instructions every minute but learn to operate in ambiguity and work well in unstructured situations.

We need our children to question and we need to encourage their natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

We as parents, owe it to our children to help them develop their true innovative potential and not kill their creativity in a mad rush to conform and perform.

Knowledge may have been power yesterday, but innovation, I believe, will power tomorrow.