Today, Banksley told me, he’s into “the whole equity thing in a big way.” He said it’s a perfect match for 22nd-century skills. “One problem with those old-fashioned 19th-century skills like math and chemistry,” he said, “is that they’re not equitable. As a student, I remember confusing multiplication, molecules, the Magna Carta, and Moby Dick. Who can expect learners to keep all that stuff straight? Talk about being bad for equity!”
I asked how we can do better.
“What we need,” he said, “are co-created, learner-centric alternatives. It all comes down to innovative, future-driven programming which promotes equitable 22nd-century heuristics and a praxis of pedagogical liberation while progressively decentering the oppressive legacy of meta-cognitive holistic supremacy.”
“Wow!” I said. “That’s so smart. Sometimes it’s tough to believe you started in vacuums.”
Paul Banksley nodded modestly.
We talked about how the funding environment has evolved since the pandemic. “School closures and chronic absenteeism have a lot of schools searching for something different,” he said. “Funders keep telling me they’re looking for innovation that’ll cultivate thought partnerships, alleviate pain points, and actionize equity. Well, that’s just where 22nd-century skills come in.”
I asked how 22nd-century skills help with something like chronic absenteeism. Banksley locked his steely gaze on me. “That’s the beauty of it,” he said. “We’re all about skillfulness, well-beingness, and futureness. And guess what combats absenteeism? The researchers we’re paying say it’s just those things! And that each dollar spent on this stuff saves seven dollars later. So, when someone gives us $100 million, we tell them they’re really getting $700 million.”
“Boy!” I exclaimed.
I asked what’s next for Tomorrows Are for Tomorrow. Banksley said, “Well, we feel good about where we are. We’ve got an industry-leading presence on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. But what’s next? It’s AI. We’re helping leverage generative skills-based dynamic cognition to support equitable, mastery-based learning environments while transitioning students towards fifth-generation skills that turn them from AI consumers to innovative AI creators.”
“That’s a lot of big words all at once,” I marveled.
Banksley nodded. “Well, our data show that bigger words lead to more funding. So, we’ve really leaned into that.”
I asked if there were any particular challenges ahead.
“We’ve got some competition that’s keeping us on our toes,” he said. “Since we discovered the 22nd century, some other far-sighted innovators have started to hop onto the bandwagon.”
I asked for an example or two.
“Check this,” he said, reading aloud from the Association for Middle Level Education web page: “The four new 22nd century Cs are here everyone, so buckle up: ‘care, connection, culture, community.’” He paused. “Sharp, right?! And did you see that they made all the words start with a ‘C’? Wish I’d thought of that,” he mused. “That’s how you drive change.”
“Hey, ‘change’ starts with a ‘C’,” I noted.
“Let’s not get carried away,” Paul replied.