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Writer's pictureKhandker Ahamed

BUILD A WHOLE-CHILD CURRICULUM TO CREATE PATHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE OF WORK



In the next few years, education will transform drastically! 

We will see more involvement from the local community, corporations, and students themselves to develop a more engaging curriculum. 

To prepare students for the future of work, schools must start creating a more engaging curriculum because the workplace is changing every day. It's critical that our youth cultivate a growth mindset, are continuous learners and become intentional about their career paths.

Kids Ivy Tutor is on a mission to teach the future of education by connecting passion, mentorship, and 21st-century skills and sponsored in-demand skills courses free of charge in schools.

In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion about the skills gap:

Nearly 80% of Americans agree there is a skills gap, and more than 35% say it affects them personally (Udemy)
The skills gap could leave a damaging $2.5 trillion impact on the U.S. economy over the next decade (Deloitte)”

As industries continue to move towards a new digital era of work, the skills gap continues to grow across the workforce, which is why Kids Ivy Tutors is working on building a curriculum that focuses on the whole-child learning curriculum. 





A whole-child approach to education ensures that each child, in each school, in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. It engages all stakeholders—educators, families, policymakers, and community members--to focus on each child their success. 

It’s essential to focus on a whole-child curriculum because it’s about school culture and curriculum; instructional strategies and family, community and corporate engagement; critical thinking and social-emotional wellness.  There are six components to a whole-child curriculum: 

  1. Relevant and Transferable Skills

  2. Multimodality Learning

  3. Cultural Relevancy

  4. Project-Based Learning

  5. Mental Health

  6. Design Thinking

Relevant and Transferable Skills Currently, we have a curriculum that only focuses on student's academics. I believe this curriculum is ineffective for the future of work. We need to develop a curriculum where we are teaching our students the right skills, principles, academics, and life essentials. We need to teach our kids how they can thrive in the future of work: in order to thrive in the future of work, they need to learn in-demand skills. Learning these skills is not only going to help kids thrive in the future of work but be the leaders in it.



Multimodal Learning Multimodal learning will become more popular over the years. Multimodal learning in education means teaching concepts using multiple channels/ styles. Here are some examples of channels we will be using: Pictures, Illustrations, Audio, Speech, Video, Art, Writing and Print, Music, Movement, Gestures, Facial expressions, colors and much more! This not only going to help teachers understand their students but also understand how they process and retain information. It will also help teachers provide students with personalized learning and instruction.




Cultural Relevancy Cultural Relevancy is a framework that recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural backgrounds, interests, and lived experiences in all aspects of teaching and learning within the classroom and across the school. It’s important that our learning environments are culturally responsive, all-inclusive, and focused on fostering a passion for learning and preparing students to achieve success through and beyond their days in school. Building a cultural relevancy program is important because students can see themselves reflected in the classroom and also have opportunities to learn more and see into the lived experiences of others. Students feel respected and affirmed in their multiple identities, and in return, respect and affirm the multiple identities of others.

Project-Based Learning Project-based learning is a classroom approach in which students actively explore real-world problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge. Having students work with an organization 1-2 days out of the school will promote relationship building, mentorship, and exposure to different industries and skillsets. They will have the opportunity to gain experience outside the school. Other than external projects, in school, they will be working on many different projects that they love and want to pursue. 

Mental Health Mental health has been a silent health epidemic in our society for decades. According to Mental Health America, mental health issues for the youth have increased over the last four years. This is why mental health should be an essential part of the education curriculum.

We need to build a curriculum where children acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

When we build a culture where students, teachers, and other staff feel comfortable to express their feelings, emotions, and thoughts it leads to:  Having a positive environment throughout the school - having more energy - help you greater align with the purpose - promote more collaboration and engagements 

Design Thinking At its core, design thinking is a methodology for creative problem-solving. Design thinking should be part of the curriculum because its core is empathy and creativity and it is key to establishing a genuine connection with people and engaging them throughout the process. We are heading to a future where we need these skills that can help us build meaningful relationships.

Design thinking will play a big role in the future of education as we are focusing on solving more crucial issues around the world. 

We need to develop a curriculum where we are teaching our students the right skills, principles, academic, and life essentials. At Kids Ivy Tutors, we implement the most innovative approaches to ensure students succeed in and outside the classroom. We’re excited to continue our work on bridging the skill gap and reimagining education.

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