Welcome to TFL Education
Aiden Harper and Eric Liddell established TFL (Teaching Future Leaders) so that we might provide a full programme of interactive, student leadership courses that attract and engage students and teachers as they pursue the development of those critical skills necessary to fulfil the social and economic aspirations of the individual, the community and the nation.
Rationale
The world in 2012 presents a whole range of new challenges for our young people.
The dollar no longer dominates world economies; the 'Arab Spring' has brought the first taste of civil freedom to whole populations; unprecedented natural disasters have affirmed the threat of global warming; major wheat and rice crop failures have threatened the lives of millions and, amid it all, the world's population continues to rise.
The old order is changing and the changes are occurring at an unprecedented pace. Who will we call on to meet these challenges and who will be the creators and the leaders of the new order? It will not be us. But we, as educators, have an important role in preparing those who will lead the world through these testing times.
At times we despair of our Twittering, Xbox, Facebook, Head phoned, iTeenagers but our young people are as bright, perceptive, funny, frustrating, articulate, annoying, charming and intelligent as any of the generations that have gone before. However, if they are to cope with the challenges ahead it is our duty to prepare them by identifying the skills and disciplines that they will need to succeed. This is no easy task. In his book, 'The World Is Flat' Thomas Friedman suggested that today's educators are preparing their students for jobs that as yet do not exist.
Educators must be prepared to allow some subjects to slip from the curriculum as their validity wanes. Critically, they must be analytical in the selection of the new disciplines that will replace them. It is a daunting task and an awesome responsibility.
What we believe to be true is that our young people will need to develop a variety of behaviours and learn a range of skills if they are to be properly armed for the challenge.
If they are to continue to 'push the world forward' they will need to demonstrate the perseverance and resilience of Thomas Edison who, despite 2000 failures, refused to be distracted from his belief that electricity could produce light. They will need the courage and self-esteem of 26 year old Mohamed Bouazizi whose fatal protest in a Tunisian town sparked revolution in North Africa; they will need the empathy and belief of Gandhi who refused to accept the suffering of his fellow countrymen.
Honesty, humour, optimism, trust, loyalty, integrity, enterprise... the list goes on. We must steer clear of the idea that these behaviours are assumed by genetic transfer or some form of Osmosis, they are not. They must be taught, modelled and encouraged.
We must show them how to solve problems; teach them the benefits of teamwork without losing the quality of independent thinking. They must understand why risk taking is to be applauded; how critical thinking must be the basis of good decision making. We must tease out their emotional intelligence and promote the value of social responsibility.
By writing and publishing a series of fully resourced interactive courses for inclusion in the secondary school curriculum our objectives are clear:
- To promote both leadership and management qualifications in schools and other educational institutions
- To empower young people through the development of the skills they will need as leaders and managers in the 21st century
- To work in partnership with education establishments to create a flexible and accessible provision that raises student skills to a level that will contribute decisively to economic and social prosperity
- To produce programmes relevant to the cultural context of the student
TFL ........ Teaching Future Leaders.
