Launching into the future with MPS – we’re on the right trajectory! Embracing the cataclysmic changes in education, re-imagining how we approach education and preparing our learners for their launch into the future
There is no doubt that progress and change are inevitable and at MPS we are keenly aware of this and as a result MPS recently totally re-imagined the way we educate our learners. While remaining committed to our foundation which is our Christian faith and principles, we recognised a need to reinvent the way we educate in order to equip our learners not only with knowledge but more importantly with the emotional and social skills needed to deal with the fast pace of change currently experienced in the world.
At MPS we strive to teach our learners to embrace change and to become #ChangeMakers – to be the ones effecting change in the world rather than being affected by it.
What kind of world are our graduates facing?
Change and progress in today’s world is happening exponentially and that at a rate, never seen before – some say even more dramatic than that of the Industrial Revolution. There is no doubt that the world is currently in the midst of a Digital revolution – or as it is popularly termed “4IR” (4th Industrial Revolution). This revolution brings with it transformation in the scope of future careers, with some traditional career options falling away, creating a totally new landscape on the job front.
What does this mean in terms of education?
Does it mean a revolution on the Education front? YES, most definitely!
A recent World Economic Forum report entitled “Catalysing Education 4.0: Investing in the Future of Learning for a Human-Centric Recovery” (May 2022) incorporates a vision to prepare students for the economies of the future – the vision is referred to as Education 4.0. The report stresses a global need for education to be re-imagined – for the focus in Education to be shifted to putting learners at the centre of learning and also on the wide variety of emotional and social skills needed to achieve success in the world of 4IR.
The report reflects MPS’ type of thinking and reaffirms that we are definitely on the right trajectory for the future!
What does the #ChangeMaker revolution look like?
The first steps in affecting real change at MPS was to acknowledge the need for change and accept the pervasive nature of technology in the world as well as changes in teaching methodology.
The next steps were to figure out what changes to bring in, in order to make a real difference to our learners so as to ensure their best chance of success in the future world of tomorrow. We realised that key elements of how we teach needed to change and our teachers need to guide and facilitate rather than instruct.
Another key element to be introduced was “High Touch Education”. High Touch Education is primarily focused on personalised teaching and the cultivation of students’ higher order thinking skills (understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and creating / synthesising) and socio-emotional growth – technology comes second to this on our list of educational priorities.
While we accept the high-tech nature of the world we firmly believe developing children and adolescents need more “High Touch” rather than High Tech and that this type of education is far more important and effective
Soft skills form a large part of High Touch Education and are going to be vital in the future working world and the ability to take responsibility for how we work with others in teams and in the workplace in future will be a key factor in determining our success. Therefore, as teachers we need to focus on developing interpersonal skills, resilience, originality, initiative and emotional intelligence in our learners.
How do we turn thinking into reality?
It’s easy to talk about change but how do we ‘practice what we preach’?
We have an exceptional team at MPS who ‘lead by example’ and actively live out the Christian principles which the school is based on every day and thereby encourage our learners to do the same.
Our caring teachers inspire and encourage creativity and curiosity in the classroom thereby giving each child the opportunity to be active participants in the learning process and to be responsible and accountable for their part in the process.
Teachers also work alongside children and show them how to learn collaboratively from each other. A strong thread which runs throughout this process at MPS is to instill in our learners a passion for reading and learning and to embrace the idea of their education continuing for a lifetime, not just for the duration of their journey through the education system.
We are also proud to be a Keller partner school and inspire and encourage our learners to read and be active through implementation of the Keller Methodology to teaching with an Active Reader programme in place of a homework policy.
Our teachers take each and every opportunity to practice skills-based teaching – from the classroom right through to the sports field
Launching into the future with MPS – 2023, here we come!
The idea of raising our learners to be #ChangeMakers is central to the core of MPS.
We believe in equipping our #ChangeMakers with the right emotional and social skills along with the necessary “hard” skills and then, from a firm base of Christian principles, we launch and release them into the world on the right trajectory in order for them to effect real, positive change in the world and to enjoy success in the future.
Would you like to join us on this education journey into the future? Enrolments for 2023 and 2024 are open and we still have spaces available in all our grades.
Watch our video below or contact MPS today and come along and see for yourself just what makes MPS unique!