The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 41
All of this is bringing remarkable innova琀椀on
in how employers, entrepreneurs, and legacy
colleges and universi琀椀es are approaching
educa琀椀on for adults. Walmart made waves in
2015 when it drama琀椀cally expanded its internal
training and mobility program for all 1.4 million
US employees. The 昀椀nancial performance of a few
short-form online learning providers, including
Coursera and MasterClass, has made for a Wild
West expansion of trainings and cer琀椀昀椀ca琀椀ons that
now vie for a琀琀en琀椀on among corporate learning
o昀케cers and jobseekers alike.
Legacy schools—the tradi琀椀onal colleges
and universi琀椀es built to serve students in the
昀椀rst two decades of life—are moving toward
new models. Their most ambi琀椀ous leaders
are embracing what sociologists call careersustaining programs, enabling con琀椀nual learning
as workplaces evolve.33 The Georgia Ins琀椀tute of
Technology has created an en琀椀rely new College
of Life琀椀me Learning commi琀琀ed to the mission
of promo琀椀ng accessible, relevant learning for
all across the lifespan and at every signi昀椀cant
juncture of change. Arizona State University
and Northeastern University have built similarly
ambi琀椀ous strategies.
We see all of this as extraordinarily good news
for the quality and meaning of life in the third
and fourth quarters of 100-year lifespans. For
much of the 20th century, the linear life course
model cast older adults as a cost to be managed,
not a resource to be valued. This narra琀椀ve surely
endures, but we hear louder, more op琀椀mis琀椀c, and
far more compelling voices framing longer lives
as assets to leverage, especially at a 琀椀me when
technological revolu琀椀ons are rendering human
wisdom, crea琀椀vity, and capacity for interpersonal
care among the few capaci琀椀es that remain elusive
to replica琀椀on by machines.
The current moment o昀昀ers a window for
drama琀椀c, even radical change in how America
“The current moment o昀昀ers
a window for drama琀椀c,
even radical change in how
America prepares its people
for prosperity. “
prepares its people for prosperity. There are at
least three choices: (1) con琀椀nue with business
as usual and let philanthropy and the private
sector respond to urgent needs in lifelong
talent development while our legacy K–12 and
postsecondary schools erode; (2) create tax and
public funding incen琀椀ves for legacy schools to
o昀昀er educa琀椀on throughout the life course and
hope for the best; and (3) develop an en琀椀rely
new vision that brings legacy schools, educa琀椀on
businesses, employers, and civic organiza琀椀ons
together as coequal players in a hybrid, publicprivate learning sector. The la琀琀er is the strategy
we are be琀�ng on.
The 20th century gave us a schooled society
in which investment in human talent was
frontloaded into the 昀椀rst two decades of life and
provided in a costly, elaborate bureaucracy called
school.34 Today we are beginning to glimpse the
outlines of what we might call a learning society,
in which investment in people at work, at home, at
play, and in community is honored and measured,
and learning is presumed to be equally essen琀椀al at
the beginning, middle, and end of life.35
Lengthening lifespans have created the
fundamental, perhaps existen琀椀al condi琀椀ons for
this new way of thinking about human 昀氀ourishing.
But as with any epochal change, the future is
con琀椀ngent on how ambi琀椀ous na琀椀ons imagine,
invest in, and build it. The stakes are too high, and
the promises are too great to do otherwise.
A D ECA D E O F P RO GRE S S , A D ECA D E TO ACT 37
