Robbins Hebrew Academy

13 By 2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring radical breakthroughs in robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology and the digital workplace. The Fourth Industrial Revolution Industry disruptions across the world will continue at an unprecedented rate. Experts have little sense of what impact this revolution will have on labour markets. What they do know is this. Talent, more than capital, will be the key factor of production. That has major implications for how we teach our children. The days of learning by rote are gone. Information for its own sake is a thing of the past. Employers of the future will look for workforces whose skill sets are unlike anything we've ever known. Global education experts say there are six skills – or the six C's – that are predictors of life-long success. And they need to be developed early on. RHA has designed its curriculum to make sure our students are ready. The first is critical thinking. Mastering the basics is no longer enough. So right from the start, we teach our students how to bring inquiry, analysis and diverse perspectives to everything they learn. And we do it in the context of solving real-world challenges. RHA has been at the forefront of the 'critical thinking' educational movement. We are the proud recipients of the prestigious L.B. Daniels Award from the Critical Thinking Consortium for creating "thinking classrooms." Then we train students in the art of communicating because how well they present their thinking is integral to success. We teach students how to collaborate because while independent thinking is important, the ability to work well with others is imperative. We instil in our children cultural sensitivity because the world is too interdependent for narrow viewpoints. The world needs global citizens who can look at issues and implications from a multi-dimensional perspective. And we foster creativity in our students because smart problem solving is a creative process, one that propels students to discover new answers to old problems by taking risks and imaginative leaps. Finally, we develop character in our students. RHA'S Character Education Initiative gives our children the qualities they need – kindness, responsibility, empathy and fairness – to become ethical and powerful leaders. Developing these skills in our students enables us to do what we do best: Produce original thinkers who live their lives with courage and compassion. It's the reason, according to Head of School Claire Sumerlus, that aptitude tests like EQAO are not always the most accurate assessment of how well students are evolving. "Of course our students score extremely well on EQAO. But those kinds of tests really evaluate only how well they've been taught to answer the questions in a way that satisfies EQAO," she says. "Those measures are just a small piece of the puzzle. The tests don't assess how well students think critically or learn deeply. And they don't evaluate how well children are collaborating or communicating. And those will be the real measures of success in the world out there." "We recognize more than ever that content is only part of what kids need," says Claire. "They need to know how to use the information we are giving them. It is really about more complex thinking, more agility and global awareness, and it's about nurturing a student's character." Most of all, it is about preparing our students to take on the demands of tomorrow. The Predictors of Lifelong Success 1. Critical Thinking 2. Communication 3. Collaboration 4. Global Citizenship 5. Creativity 6. Character

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