From the Head of Knox Prep – Gen Alpha: our resilient and creative next generation
American author Seth Godin once said, "There are two polar opposites. Staying still – and breaking. But in between there is stretching."
"It’s true - stretching hurts a bit. And it can leave us a bit sore."
"But then tomorrow, we can stretch further than we could the day before.
And the day after, we will stretch even further still."
If we just try; if we have a go. ‘Have a go’ has been the official unofficial motto of Knox Prep for as long as anyone can remember. And this year, ‘have a go’ we certainly did.
Seth Godin also says that if you’re afraid of breaking, the answer isn’t to stay still. The answer is to dedicate yourself to stretching. Have we stretched this year? Oh yes, we have.
For even in the depths of incredible adversity and hardship, there is always opportunity for growth – for stretching.
Mark McCrindle is a social researcher and he has studied this first generation of children and adolescents born in this 21st century. A group he calls Generation Alpha.
What has he discovered? By end of their generation of births there will be more than 2 billion 'Gen Alphas' globally. They will be the largest generation in history of the world. They are inclusive and collaborative, global in outlook and keen to learn. Most of them will see the 22nd Century.
Generation Alpha are agile and adept; and much more likely to persist when facing challenges compared to previous generations. When given wings to fly, Alphas are teachable. They see failure as opportunity to learn. They are not afraid to take risks. And they are open to feedback.
There is no question that they will have great power in our world. But with that great power will come great responsibility. They are immersed in messaging about climate, environment and sustainability.
These kids care. They are learning to use their voices respectfully to speak up on global social issues, and to develop a strong belief in their ability to action change to make our world a better place.
How true that is. But they have been significantly impacted by COVID. For a 5 year old who has spent two years in this pandemic, that equates to 40% of their life! For our 10 year olds, it’s 20%. That is significant. So, what are the predicted long term impacts of COVID on Generation Alpha?
Well, the good news is it’s not all bad!
Alphas have the same intrinsic needs as we all do…
McCrindle suggests that every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
The danger for us, as adults, is to teach and parent our children as we were taught and parented. For their world is a different place!
In teaching and parenting our Alphas, we need to:
We need to put our efforts into helping them to understand the power of yet, and that the human brain is continually learning and adapting throughout our lives. And we must model all of these things, every day, and share examples from our own lives. We must model the power of stretching. Together, we can do this for our young people.
Mrs Sue Floro, Head of Knox Prep
This is an edited version of Sue's speech from Knox Prep Presentation Day 2021.
10 April 2024
The Knox Grammar School Cadet Unit has well and truly settled in to life at AFX Camp, with all activities now underway.
25 March 2024
Year 12 student Tyler Jackson spent a fruitful few days in the nation’s capital last week at the 29th National Schools Constitutional Convention, held at Old Parliament House.
18 March 2024
The Leukaemia Foundation will receive more than $100,000 from the Knox team after students and staff matched their fundraising goal to the School’s centenary year.
