The R’s are dead, long live the R’s
(The need to refocus education)
The R’s that are being referred to in the title as having died are the three academic R’s of reading, writing and arithmetic.
Dead is a bit dramatic. It would be more accurate to say they are in the process of being outsourced. AI can now perform reading, writing and mathematical tasks thousands of times better than any human.
It is still useful to have these abilities but ….. the times they are a changing.
As well as recognising this fact the title also proclaims, long live the R’s. This proclamation refers to the three R’s of personal and social development, Relationships, Rational Thinking and Reactions.
As these three R’s cannot be outsourced, they will be the new King / Queen of education in the future.
Focusing on these 3 R’s present us with an opportunity to build a better and more responsible society, therefore we should get to know them well.
Relationships – Relationships are everything to humans, we are social creatures. This is why solitary confinement is used as a punishment and why loneliness is the blite of so many lives.
There are many different types of relationship. Family, friends, enemies, sexual partners, neighbours etc. Let’s face it relationships are always changing; people can be in one category and move to another and back (without being too weird).
Relationships could be categorised in many ways, but a very useful and effective way is known as RF4. This places relationships on 4 levels. Firstly, your relationship with yourself (Self-esteem, self-image, self-respect, self-discipline etc.) If this fundamental relationship is damaged, then all the other relationships in your life will be on shaky ground.
The second level is your relationship with other people. Respectful, assertive, caring, etc. Perhaps the opposite of all these? Do you let people in? are you a closed book? Do you communicate with confidence or are you a wall flower. Whatever the case may be, is this level working for you and the people around you?
The third level is based on a realisation that you can’t care for people and not care for their relationships. Other people’s relationships have a major impact on your life. Their self-esteem, their friendships, their families are part of the social fabric in which we all live and depend. Social media can play a role in putting people in touch with each other or helping people stay in touch but it can also play a role in damaging other people’s relationships (even those of strangers) there are trolls, antagonist and people who like to pull other people down (in the words of Taylor Swift “Haters gona hate).
The fourth level is that of community, when people have a sense of belonging there is less crime, more volunteering and social cohesion. People can belong to multiple communities at the same time, they can be built around shared interest, geography, online spaces and platforms, etc. Social cohesion does take work however and those people who contribute to promoting social harmony are worth their weight in gold.
RF4 is not the only way of categorising human relationships but it is a useful approach that most people can understand and apply.
Rational thinking
The world has never been static, but the rate of change has never been so frantic. We are bombarded with images, messages and opinions. People and bots are trying to scam us, mine our data and provoke us into action.
Life is complicated and people like to keep things simple. This is why leaders with a simple message can often gain notoriety even if their claims don’t withstand scrutiny.
The ability to think critically, to think clearly and to make purposeful decisions has never been more important.
We can learn a lot from youth workers here. Youth work when it is done well is masterful in the way they promote rational thinking. They don’t tell people what to think, they offer observations and guided reflection so that people can become more effective thinkers for themselves. I really like the term ‘the invisible youth worker’ as this refers to young people making better decisions because they have interacted with youth workers in their past.
It is essential to build a trusting and respectful relationship with someone before you start questioning their thought process. One of the greatest skills a youth worker has is to go into this interaction with their own values but with an open mind and to keep an open mind throughout.
There are three areas of particular interest that need to be questioned carefully and with compassion.
These are:
1. Beliefs. What do you believe about this aspect of life? How did you form your belief, who influenced you? Some people, cultures and religions may react defensively when they are being questioned about their beliefs (this is understandable as they may have attached their whole identity to it) but if they are not open to enquiry beliefs become a dogma. I once asked an American soldier why he hated the communists. He didn’t answer the question but shouted at me “ARE YOU A COMMUNIST”? I replied that I wasn’t, but I was curious why he hated them. He dismissed my question by saying “because that’s what we been taught”.
You can replace the ‘soldier’ in this story with anyone with a closed mind and you can replace ‘communist’ with any group different to the group you identify with.
“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned” - Richard Feynman theoretical physicist.
2. Values. Having established your beliefs, the next thing to be questioned are values. what is important to you? What are your priorities? How and when do your priorities change?
We all face dilemmas (when two or more values clash) in life so how do you work through these situations?
It is useful to practice working through difficult dilemmas in a safe space and with a facilitator so when you are confronted with a real dilemma you are more prepared and more able to take a confident stance.
Most organisations state their values but values are priorities and priorities are contextual. Stated values are a guide but we must be flexible in order to deal with the realities of life.
Wise people are always learning and adapting in life.
I am minded of Groucho Marx joke “These are my principles, if you don’t like them I have some other ones”.
3. Actions. What do you actually do? If we followed you around for a week would we know your beliefs and values by your actions? Or is there a misalignment?
We tend to judge people by their actions but if we really want to improve their behaviour we need to build their self-awareness and self-reflection.
Many people don’t understand their own actions and choose to make the same mistakes rather than admitting they have been living under a false pretence.
What mistakes do you keep making?
What do you do better now than you did in the past?
There is an educational process here. Build a trusting and respectful relationship, face a dilemma in a safe environment, where beliefs and values can be carefully and compassionately questioned, offer observations and guided reflection, capture and apply the learning to real dilemmas and decisions.
When people are willing to be open minded and willing to be questioned and when they align their beliefs, values and actions they are being effective.
Reactions
"You cannot control the behaviour of others, but you can always choose how you respond to it." Roy T. Bennett
Human beings are emotional creatures who think. We have a range of emotions love, hate, fear, embarrassment. This roller-coaster of emotion is intensified during the teenage years when life gets even more complicated than usual.
Learning to recognise and deal with emotions is a lifelong journey and like most journeys it is helpful to have a bit of support along the way.
Dealing with emotions starts with being self-aware.
Owning the emotion helps to avoid the emotion owning you.
Emotions aren’t wrong they are real to the person experiencing them. How we give expression to our emotion is key to becoming emotionally intelligent.
So this gives us a simple (in theory but often difficult in practice) three step process which benefits from support. 1. Acknowledge your feelings. 2 Accept and do not deny the emotion 3. Find an appropriate way to express this energy.
So, there we have it. Hale to the new R’s (at least these 3 actually start with the letter ‘R’). Some societies are built on religion, economics, science, military power, stigma etc, or a mix of these.
It is time to ensure that each individual has the personal and social development ability to question all the above and build a modern forward-thinking society. A society in which people take responsibility and can build a sense of purpose, optimism and belonging.
Example deployment.
In way of an example of how to use the 3R’s of personal and social development and how using them may be put to good effect let’s look at knife crime.
Knife crime is all about relationships, applying RF4 would:
1. With self - Build self-esteem this inoculates young people from peer-pressure.
2. With others - Builds confidence and stops young people from feeling vulnerable and carrying a knife for self-protection.
3. With other people’s relationships. Young people can de-escalate situations and can support conflict resolution in their peers.
4. With community – A sense of belonging beyond the peer group enables young people to reach out, get support and advice.
Rational thinking – Most of us and most young people make a rational choice not to carry a knife. Why do some young people come to a different conclusion? By exploring their thought process as to what they believe regarding the need for weapons, what they are prioritising and what decision they are making young people may re-consider their actions and conclude that carrying a knife is more dangerous than not.
Reaction – What is the young person feeling? Fear? Anger? Defiance? Are they aware of this? Can they explain their feelings? What are their options for dealing with these feelings? Are these feelings being generated by something untrue or unimportant?
What action does the young person choose to take?
Finally
Academia’s 3 R’s are still important but the three R’s of personal and social development are imperative in the modern world. They are complicated, they interplay with each other, and they are not easy to assess but going forward character education / personal and social development is the best way of preparing young people for the new world.
Once their basic needs are met young people need to build healthy relationships, be self-aware and make effective choices so that they have the best chance of becoming happy adults’ whatever life has in store.
AI, like all technology can be a force for good or a force for evil. To ensure society is on a positive path and not a journey of destruction it is for each of us, our education systems and all our institutions to promote personal and social development.
Luckly enough we have relationship experts who have been doing this work for years. They are named youth workers and if they can share their expertise with other sectors in society the world will be a better place.
Paul Oginsky May 25