“Not every kid leaves high school with a job offer, an internship, college acceptance letter, or even with a diploma. One thing that nearly every American kid leaves school with, though, is uncertainty; the kind that often lasts a lifetime. In the paradigm of preparing kids for success in adult life, striving to give every kid career certainty is not the answer. Instead, we need to be solving for adaptability and for happiness. This involves undoing the rampant mindset that there’s only one pathway to success. Kids need to learn adaptability and they need room to experiment and learn in meaningful ways, both inside and outside of schools. Why solve for adaptability instead of certainty? Because bridges that are too rigid can break. Because kids are human beings who deserve to enjoy and learn from the ride of life instead of fixating on the end goal.”

“To thrive, every kid needs equitable access to opportunities to research, learn more about themselves, and be inspired to build their own unique bridge to adulthood. Equitable access means self-discovery and career exploration experiences are abundant in the curriculum and in the community, so they are more than just one-off programs or only for students of certain achievement levels. Kids need to focus less on achieving A+, and more focus on finding a path.”

“Adults often tell teenagers who are about to leave high school to “dream big.” Instead, we should tell them that, if they start planning and building early enough, their life’s ambitions will be more than just vapor. “Early” is the key word. Why start early? There are countless reasons to start early, but central to them all is this urgency: young people today are entering a world of massive uncertainty and they have just been through a global crisis that is unprecedented in how it played out and in how it continues to impact their communities, families, and lives.”

“The classroom is one of the few physical spaces in modern society that has remained relatively unchanged since it became the de facto teaching and learning venue in the Western world. So dominant is the assumption that the only learning of any value happens within these walls, in these books, at these desks – and measured by these tests – that we’ve ignored the incredible technological advances happening all around us and their power to drive, amplify, and “defrost” learning. The paradigm change we need is for educators, parents, administrators, mentors, counselors, and community leaders to understand and embrace the potential and reality of digitally networked learning and online experiences. In the gaming environment, kids can and do learn and retain valuable skills that are difficult to unlock in a classroom: extreme perseverance; goal setting; problem-solving; the importance of incremental success; and agility.”

When ASA asked Gen Z youth about gaming, they said they were extremely interested in playing a game that would help them develop their real-world skills. They understood, even at a young age, that the same feeling of validation and advancement they enjoyed through avatars could work in their favor in school and a career. Entrepreneurs are taking note. Game creator Ender, for example, has made it their mission to disrupt the traditional gaming space – and ultimately education – with constructive and affirming gaming experiences that build, as their CEO Gautam Bhargava says, “Employability by 18.”

“When we reimagine education to include work-based experiences, any kid from any background – not just those with wealthy or gainfully employed parents – will be able to envision their own success, see people who look and sound like them succeeding on the job, and develop vital skills that will propel them into adulthood success. Kids need us to help them unlock their true potential by way of these opportunities.”

“Non-degree aspirations are outside the norm. And what kid wants to be outside the norm where it’s scary, lonely, and risky? There are numerous examples of how that messaging plays out in the media and in online spaces that kids are absorbing, and it starts early in the school experience and continues as we use archaic metrics to tell kids what they’re worth to the world.”

 “From building a video game city, to DIY craft projects or launching a YouTube channel about fashion, informal activities have the power to help kids unlock vital skills and knowledge that they’ll use later – skills that they crave and need in their lives. Informal learning may be among the greatest frontiers of promise for transforming an undeniably ailing and increasingly polarizing education system. If we can figure out a way to flood kids’ learning environments and the spaces they love so much with parallel opportunities for engagement, discovery, exploration and growth, the possibilities are endless.”

 “There is a revolution ahead that is centered on transforming the way we create and deliver educational experiences to kids. Those experiences can and will include self-discovery and career exploration, and will be focused on their individual needs, goals, and passions. In this vision for a transformed educational ecosystem, success will be measured on the competency kids have built in their skills, on the progress that they feel they’ve made in reaching their goals, and on the confidence they feel when making decisions about what comes next.”

“The movement is this: A path for every kid; a plan for every future. Working together and using the exceptional infrastructure at our disposal and the brightest minds of educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and subject-matter experts our country and the wider world have to offer, this vision is completely within reach. Let’s make this vision a reality, and then let’s get out of the way so our kids can build the world they want to inhabit.”