"In times of change the learners will inherit the earth"

"In times of change the learners will inherit the earth, while the knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"

Stephanie Hamilton quoted Eric Hoffer in her presentation the last day in Boston. We are, in some cases, painfully aware of that times are changing. We are not talking about smaller transitions but about a paradigm shift. Students with prestigious degrees are having a difficult time finding work. They feel their knowledge should be enough for the society they are supposed to be prepared for, instead they "find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists". We need to help students to adapt and prepare for a future that no one knows how it will look like in the next 5 to 10 years. And if this is true for students examined today, it is probably true for our society as a whole. But where do we start?

I think all of us left Boston and Maine with new ideas, energy and go-ahead spirit. The discussions on learning and the new expectations the current generation has on schools, teachers and principals are totally different from anything we´ve experienced. These fundamental changes seem to engage and challenge our rooted perception of how schools work. I´d go as far as stating that these changes are revolutionary but in a positive way. Many of the principals have a profound as well as a broad understanding of these changes (maybe that´s why they were there). But it also requires a lot of courage to be a frontrunner and challenge all these prerequisites from the IT-department, teachers, parents and others. We have to make IT in schools a natural pedagogical work tool. This is fundamental if we want to change the path on which we are heading into the 21st century. We have to start changing the way we engage students in learning. We have to be willing to accept that our role in education, as educators, teachers, principals, officials and politicians are changing.

"If a child can´t learn the way we teach, maybe we will have to teach the way they learn"