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Challenges for the 21st Century
Teacher's Student Activities
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WHAT IS THE IDEAL FUTURE?
AN INTERDISCPLINARY UNIT:
Transdisciplinary approach in forecasting effect and influences in a community.
All disciplines could potentially be integrated into the unit.
Students will:
1. Predict technological developments in the 21st century.
2. Use various resources including interviews.
3. Analyze situations from the point of view of others.
4. Recognize and appreciate values that exist across generations.
Stories and opinions relating to the 21st century in current literature include:
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Cetron, Marvin J. ENCOUNTERS WITH THE FUTURE: A FORECAST OF LIFE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY. McGraw-Hill, 1982
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Clarke, Arthur Charles. ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S JULY 20, 2019: LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY. McMillan, 1986
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Canto, Christophe. THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE: IMAGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY. Flammarion, 1993.
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Aburdene, Patrici. MEGATRENDS FOR WOMEN. Villard Books, 1992.
The moderator of "Challenges of the 21st Century" poses the following three questions to the panelists. Ask these same questions of the students in your class prior to showing the tape or watching the broadcast. Provide time for self-reflection or group discussion to arrive at solutions. After the video, it may be useful to check the alignment between the students' and panelists' responses. The questions are:
1. What is the greatest challenge of the 21st century?
2. What is the greatest threat to your future?
3. What guarantee does the 21st century provide?
A suggested format is to assign student groups one question each. The group task is to reach consensus and prepare a 5-minute response to their question.
WATCH THE ATV BROADCAST OR VIDEO OF "CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY."
The following projects could be assigned to the entire class, small groups or individual students:
1. Describe or design an ideal community of the 21st century. Consider these factors when designing your community:
a) size
b) threats
c) social-economic structure
d) entertainment
e) food/recreation
f) employment
g) education
Depending on the time and desired scope of the project, students could produce mind maps, collages, essays, short stories, multi-media presentations, architectural sketches, or a video.
After students have created their community, ask the following questions. What is the likelihood of such a community ever becoming a reality? How can you ensure that it will happen? Students should be ready to defend their stance.
2. Conduct a research survey on the expectations of the future from the point of view of different generations.
Have the students develop a list of interview questions on the topic of what an ideal community of the 21st century would be like. After the class has agreed which questions to ask, divide the class into three groups. Using the same questions, have one group interview three males and three females age 50 or older. The second group will interview three males and three females from the age group of 25 to 50. The third group will interview three males and three females from the age group of 13 to 25. Each group will present a summary of there findings written up to share with the class. A comparison of the findings of each age group and gender should be charted and discussed.
3. Transform the classroom into a mock FDA hearing on cloning.
In the video, Judge Breyer stated that a democracy consists of people making the laws that govern them. During the 21st century inventions will be created, new discoveries will be made, and many advances in technology are likely. Today's students will have the responsibility to write the laws that will govern them. A legal question of the future will be to find a just balance of the use of technical advances and capabilities.
Have the students respond to this scenario: Scientists have perfected the cloning of human beings. The FDA has the responsibility of defining its appropriate use. In other words, the students must develop the dos and don'ts of human genetics. Design a role-play scenario in which the students conduct a mock FDA hearing which takes place in the year 2025. Various roles the students could play include FDA officials, lobbyists for a medical firm that owns a cloning patent, a lobbyist group that opposes the use of cloning on moral and ethical grounds, or a "nonpartisan" group which has written a list of restrictions and regulations.
Expand or limit the scope of the project as time permits. It could be extended by including research projects on the FDA, cloning, ethics and democratic processes.
Exhibitions of these projects could be assessed through student portfolios, Power Point presentations, written reports, and/or videos. [See Sizer, HORACE'S SCHOOL in Resources.]
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