This article was written by Brennan Barnard and appeared in Forbes. To see the article as it originally appeared, click here.
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“Go forth with purpose!”
“Stay true to your purpose!”
“Ask yourself what purpose your life will serve?”
If you have attended a graduation ceremony this season, you have likely heard some iteration of these calls to action from any number of inspiring speakers. I recently concluded a seventy-two-hour blitz of celebrations at three different schools on two coasts (culminating with my own son’s high school graduation). As I sat listening to students, educators, and guest speakers share their reflections, common themes of purpose and curiosity reverberated. One notable speech was delivered by Derek Vanderpool, who was chosen by students to give the faculty address at Khan Lab School (where I serve as the director of college counseling). He reassured graduates, saying,
“It’s okay to not feel 100% certain about your path at this point, and if you lean into that liminal state, you may find new parts of yourself, or new interests, hobbies, and joys to complement your already rich lives. And even if you are certain of your path, I encourage you to still look beyond your familiarities and comforts to the broader world and its experiences. Keep observing and asking questions of the people, places, and things around you. Put another way, when I ask you to reconsider and embrace uncertainty, to be open and curious, to be humble, what I’m asking is that you fulfill one of the goals of a Khan Lab School education: I’m asking you to be engaged, lifelong learners.”
Though Vanderpool is a history teacher, the skills he identifies transcend academic disciplines. As graduates everywhere anticipate higher education and/or careers it is imperative that schools equip them with these valuable tools for learning and–as a new report argues–thriving in the workplace.
Undoubtedly, the impact of the pandemic on student mental health has been deep, prolonged, and concerning. Even before Covid-19, the mental health crisis on college campuses was surging. This alone accentuates the need for increased attention to social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. The well-being of our young people hinges on it. A collaborative white paper released by Project Wayfinder and Roadtrip Nation projects that the well-being of our workforce also necessitates a focus on SEL to build the skills that graduates will need in their careers. The paper, “Putting SEL to Work: Preparing Purposeful Students for the Future,” provides a comprehensive review of research around purpose and workplace success and echoes the charge that Vanderpool gave graduates.
The report's authors write that for schools, “The wise strategy is to invest resources in preparing students for a future of uncertainty in school, the workplace, and—as recent times continue to demonstrate—in a rapidly shifting social and geopolitical landscape.” A 2020 report by The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, with the advent of precision AI, as many as 85 million jobs may become redundant. And out of the redistribution of work between humans, machines, and algorithms, as many as 97 million new roles may emerge. So how do educators confront this reality? The report argues that “There is one key variable that can significantly affect an individual’s ability to navigate uncertainty: a connection to one’s purpose.” The authors highlight that “when students have purpose, they’re able to navigate uncertainty with knowledge of where they want to go and confidence in themselves and their abilities to get there.”
Project Wayfinder was born at Stanford's d.school when founder and CEO, Patrick Cook-Deegan sought to address one principal question: “How can we re-imagine adolescent education to develop a student’s sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging?” What resulted was a robust and ever-evolving SEL curriculum for schools to integrate into their wellness and advisory programs and ultimately community writ large. These research-based lessons empower students to build the critical skills to thrive in school and beyond. To date, they have reached over 20,000 students in 35 countries and 30 states and are growing.
Based on studies on SEL and the workforce, the most recent evolution in course design is intended to support students’ future job success. Cook-Deegan explains, "We decided to publish this report now because there has been a flood of research recently pointing to the same incontrovertible fact – if schools are going to truly prepare students for post-secondary success, they must prioritize these durable human skills. These skills have always been important in the workplace but, amidst the uncertainty engendered for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, they are absolutely vital."
What are Durable Human Skills?
The report explains that durable human skills are “precisely the skills that technology cannot displace and are critical to creating positive work environments.” A few examples it gives are: “(a) Complex communication skills that enable one to work in teams with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds; (b) Awareness and appreciation for diversity in all its forms as critical to being able to work with international and multilingual teams of individuals; and, (c) Self-awareness of one’s talent, skills, and interests as well as maintaining future purpose and goals as critical to becoming more proactive in selecting learning opportunities necessary to pursue those goals.”
For the past 20 years, Roadtrip Nation has supported individuals in their journey to explore interests and design their future. Learners are sent on trips throughout the country to connect with people in different careers as an exercise in self-discovery. Their work has resulted in an award-winning public television series and a project-based course centered around community interviews. Reflecting on their collaboration on the white paper, Roadtrip Nation founder, Mike Marriner says,
"My hope is that this report can help reframe the narrative around Social Emotional Learning and how we think about providing opportunities for young people to develop these durable human skills. Far from 'soft' or 'superfluous,' skills like problem-solving, communication, and resiliency are the foundation of preparing students to find their place in the future of work and pursue paths that align with their purpose and goals."
Anthony Carnevale agrees. He is a research professor and director of The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), a research and policy institute that studies “the links between education, career qualifications, and workforce demands.” Carnevale says, “Beginning in the mid-1980s, technological advancement, globalization, and a shift to the service economy changed the competencies required in the vast majority of jobs. Prior to the 1980s, in the ‘good old days,’ most jobs required a much larger share of specific competencies, especially in manufacturing. What has changed since then is that employers need the ‘whole person,’ not just a set of on-the-job skills. We now know that there are more than 1,000 separate job profiles that require a distinctive mix of cognitive knowledge, skills, and abilities, but success on the job today also requires a specific mix of work interests, work values, and personality traits.” For example, he says, “communication, teamwork, customer service, leadership, and problem-solving and complex thinking are the five most in-demand competencies across the labor market.” Carnevale adds, “according to our research, a one-quartile increase in the intensity with which workers use their communications competencies is associated with an average earnings premium of 20%. Similarly, a one-quartile increase in the intensity with which workers use problem-solving and complex thinking is associated with an average earnings premium of 19%.”
And, SEL strengths don’t just benefit the worker. At a time when many companies and organizations are struggling to maintain a healthy workforce, these skills will be key to the success of our nation’s economy. Mike Vlacich is the New England regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration and the former president and CEO of the New Hampshire College and University Council. He says, “having worked in some capacity with small businesses throughout the New England region for 25 years, demographic-driven labor shortages are not new. COVID did exacerbate and shine a bright light on these challenges leading to the workforce being cited by nearly almost every sector I meet as a top challenge and impediment to small business growth.” He says, “I am also told by these businesses that they would eagerly invest in training new employees but what they need help is a workforce prepared to learn and be trained, which has been a challenge.” Vlacich adds, “it is critical that we embrace approaches at younger ages to promote durable skills and social-emotional learning to assist our future employees and employers.”
SEL in Action
Simply teaching students about the importance of durable human skills is insufficient. This is why both Project Wayfinder and Roadtrip Nation have developed programs to encourage students to apply the tools they are learning in the classroom. Wayfinder’s Purpose Project and Roadtrip’s Interview Project put these SEL skills in action, empowering students to be intentional and reflective. The report reinforces the importance of this happening across the learning experience. The authors say that “for maximum effect, programming must extend beyond a single classroom. Content area teachers can easily weave SEL and purpose into their classrooms with activities that foster belonging and community-building.” They add, “This integration not only gives students more places to practice their skills but also creates learning environments where students feel more supported to take the kinds of risks they need to learn and grow.”
Van Ton-Quinlivan is the chief executive officer of Futuro Health and former executive-in-residence at the Institute for the Future. She is also the executive vice chancellor emeritus for the California Community Colleges and the author of “WorkforceRx: Agile and Inclusive Strategies for Employers, Educators, and Workers in Unsettled Times.” Ton-Quinlivan explains that “these durable core skills transcend education into jobs across industries.” She adds, “whether they are cultivated in schoolwork or extracurricular activities, they will help students thrive in the future of work.”
Challenge Success, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education, partners with schools, families, and communities “to embrace a broad definition of success and to implement research-based strategies that promote student well-being and engagement with learning.” Their own white paper entitled, “A ‘Fit’ Over Rankings: Why College Engagement Matters More Than Selectivity” highlights the importance of this same type of learning in post-secondary education. Their report explains that “colleges that provide ample opportunities for students to deeply engage in learning, and campus community, may offer the key to positive outcomes after college.” Reflecting on the Wayfinder/Roadtrip report, Challenge Success co-founder, author, and Stanford senior lecturer, Denise Pope says, “when students of all ages engage in meaningful learning experiences that help them apply what they learn, and when they find ways to connect to other adults and peers, in a way that allows them to feel like they belong in the community, students are more likely to thrive in school, college, and in future jobs and careers.” She adds, “Thus, it isn’t WHERE you go to college that necessarily matters, it’s what you do while you are there that ultimately makes a difference.”
Students need the skills that will enable them to make this difference in their experience. Now more than ever, schools must be acutely aware of the social-emotional well-being of young people. This doesn’t happen at the expense of preparation for their future, but in complement to it. As we benefit from the technological advances of the past decades, we cannot discount our humanity and the critical skills that we need to thrive as a society. This report makes a compelling argument for educators to intentionally equip learners with the tools they will need to be purposeful, successful individuals and contributing citizens. Our collective durability depends on it.
