Across the world, “graduates” of schools such as Tanglin Trust School have recently become the class of 2023. This generation is sometimes disparaged with references to “snowflakery”, but I think they are more prepared than we often believe for life outside school.
The list of their achievements is enormous. The results for IB were strong and it will be the same story in August for A-levels at Tanglin. They are interesting people with a social conscience that those of us growing up in the 80s had no concept of then. They are globally connected kids, and although their third culture status worries some, it also provides a valuable perspective.
“They have a social conscience far stronger than the children of the 1980s.”
Over this past year, getting to know them has been a time-pressured challenge but three things are obvious of this group and others leaving similar schools. They have abundant skills, their motivations are strong and they thrive in an environment that inspires them to do much more than “the usual” .
Additionally, parents – sometimes unfairly likened to hostile hovering helicopters – are so much more engaged in education now than ever before, and their unconditional love and passionate advocacy are key assets and factors in success.
Great schools like Tanglin have been preparing the class of 2023 to leave from the day they arrived. All those projects, plays, assemblies in junior schools, the transition moments, the rigour of senior schools, the skills they learned along the way. They are ready to “want to leave” and explore the real world.
It is scary to think that most of this year group was born in 2004 or 2005. In 2004, TheFacebook was launched and by the end of 2005 had 6 million users. If Facebook were a country now it would be the third most populous in the world. YouTube was founded in 2005, and now has 2.1 billion users.
“It is scary to think that most of this year group was born in 2004 or 2005.”
In 2004, few would have predicted this. Indeed, predicting things is a tough business. In 1951, Time magazine claimed that their generation living in the 21st century would be illiterate due to the rise of TV.
In 1900 John Elfreth Watkins junior, curator of the Smithsonian Institute, predicted that by now the letters C, X and Q would no longer be in our everyday alphabet. Tell that to a quantitative analyst, Cisco Systems or the X-Men
It is hard to predict the future. And even when we do – for example amateur scientist Guy Callendar discovered the planet was warming up as early as 1938 – we don’t always react to prevent oncoming catastrophe.
However, I predict that this generation is ready for this next set of challenges. They are ready for the hardships of undergraduate study, ready for a competitive marketplace and ready for the struggle ahead. They are ready for climate emergency, the rise of populism and the post-truth era.
“It is hard to predict the future.”
They are also ready to enter a world where opportunities still abound, opportunities that didn’t exist for others or don’t even quite make sense yet.
As they grow they will realise that we will need them more than they need us.
Anyone doubting the extraordinary potential of this next generation should visit schools like mine and witness for themselves the talent, skill and determination leaving for even greater things this summer.