Your Children, Their Future

Have you looked around at the world lately? If you haven't looked I will tell you that the world is changing at an exponential rate. What I am going to blog about isn't meant to scare you, but to inform you about things I have read lately. In the past month I have finished two books- Most Likely to Succeed by Tony Wagner and No Ordinary Disruption by Richard Dobbs along with numerous articles dealing with the future of education.
I have three boys myself and I have to make sure that the number one priority in their life is to do well in school. It is my job to make sure they get a good night's rest, eat a good breakfast and dinner, make sure they do their homework and are respectful to their teachers. I also need to support my children and make sure they can read, write, do math and help build their curiosity.  If I am doing my part and making sure that I am meeting those needs for them then the rest is up to them.  I am just like you all and want my children to succeed and do better than me in life.
Here is the problem that we face as parents-The World. When I say The World I mean everything from technology to their future careers. Here is a stat from Richard Dobbs book- "By 2025, in fact, computers could do the work of 140 million knowledge workers, and robots could do the work of another 75 million people." Have you looked around at the world lately? Yes, I asked that earlier, but I really want you to look around the next time you go shopping, out to eat or just for a drive. When you go shopping are you seeing less cashiers and more automated self-checkouts. Are you even going to a building to shop or are you buying more things online? Have you been to a restaurant lately and paid the computer at the table instead of a waiter or waitress? Now for the good news- the book does state that there will be high demand for skilled positions in engineering, software development and health care.
Tony Wagner's book is a perfect compliment to Richard Dobbs' book in that it tells us what our children will need to know and be able to do to be successful in the future.  Tony tells teachers and parents that students will need to be creative, be able to collaborate, be innovative, show grit, be able to think critically and be able to ask great questions. Think about those skills and the jobs listed in the above paragraph. Those skills are a perfect fit for engineers, software developers and people who work in health care.
I would like to give you some stats that deal with income I read recently in an article.
Today high school dropouts can earn $24,000 a year, which will earn that person around $973,000 over their life. A person who now holds a high school diploma could make $32,000 a year, which will earn that person around $1,300,000 in a life.  Now here is the problem-those jobs will become harder and harder to find with computers and robots taking those jobs.
The article states that a person who earns a 4 year college degree earns about $50,000 a year, which will earn that person anywhere from $2,500,000 to $5,000,000 in a life. Can you see how a great education can lead to more money?
Guess What? At Estes, we are doing everything possible to prepare your child for the real world. Your child is in great hands with some of the best teachers that you will ever meet. We just hope that your child comes to school every day and sticks around at Estes for his or her entire elementary career.