The importance of Being in the Background

Have you ever seen a post on social media and been left utterly aghast at what you just read.  I found the following infographic in a well known social media site and could not believe my eyes when it refers to reading, writing and mathematics as an "Out of focus Skills" which are less essential and not expected to increase in use while in the same breath refers to "AI and big data", "Analytical Thinking", "Technological Literacy" and "Systems Thinking" as being "Core Skills for 2030" which are "Core now and expected to increase in importance".  

Mathematicians have been teaching the underpinning skills that enable the analysis of data, whether big or small, for many years.  How does one begin to analyse data without an awareness of statistical techniques?  Analytical thinking, problem solving, system thinking, creative thinking... these are all part of the maths curriculum.  While I think there are weaknesses in the curriculum which emphasise processes rather than application of skills, problem solving is a key aspect of applied mathematics!  

Similarly, in an age where working online in distributed teams is becoming more common, how does one expect to cope in a digital environment where the written word still dominates if we regard reading and writing as, "out of focus skills".  Whether your are communicating in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese... working in a multi-lingual context still requires and understanding of the written word, regardless of language.

It's not the first time that I've encountered this narrative.  People have been telling me that literacy and numeracy skills are becoming less relevant for some years now.  However, as this image illustrates, there is a huge lack of appreciation for the interconnections between these skills.  I remember when I was studying for my teaching qualification and I came across the work of a theorist called Pask (I can't remember this first name, nor can I remember the date of his work - so apologies for the lack of reference).  I do remember that he was involved cybernetics.  But his work illustrated a theory that has been embraced as a form of constructivism because his robots could only be taught more complex skills once they had "understood" and refined the performance of more basic skills.  This is a basic principle that I would imagine almost all teachers embrace.  Skills development is progressive!  

The other thing that alarms me in this infographic is the suggestion that reading, writing and mathematics are purely cognitive skills.  Communication skills enable our ability to work with others, the enable us to articulate our ethical values and principles, they enable us to interpret feedback thereby enhancing our self-management and self-efficacy.

There is a complex web of interplay that occurs between these skills.

However, but as with any photographic image, focus is important.  The reality is that when a photographer focuses on their subject, the background becomes less important.  The photographer wants us to see something.  They want us to see what they see.  They want us to appreciate something that they too appreciate.  In that process, the photographer makes an active choice in what they want people to see and what they want to blur into the background.  

So when I see this image, or when I hear stories like it, I've always found it useful to think about what's in the background.  If this image is to believed, then my entire career has been spent in the background and I'm OK with that.  But I'm under no illusions that I'm only there because someone else decided that's where I belong.