Media 6: Reading Discussion – Week Six

“Five Minds For the Future – Chapter 1 – Minds Viewed Globally” by Howard Garder

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For me, this week’s reading was probably one of the best I’ve read throughout my degree so far. Throughout his chapter, Minds Viewed globally, Howard Garder speaks of “…the kinds of minds that people will need if they – if we – are to thrive in the world during the eras to come” (Garder, 2007, p1). Additionally, Garder highlights the way in which education may need to change to facilitate different, futuristic kinds of thinking.

There are five ‘minds’ in which Garder highlights, in which he argues that with these minds “…a person will be well equipped to deal with what is expected, as well as what cannot be anticipated; without these minds, a person will be at the mercy of forces that he or she can’t understand, let alone control” (Garder, 2007, p2).

The first mind he identifies is the disciplined mind which is “a distinctive mode of cognition that characterises a specific scholarly discipline, craft or profession” (Garder, 2007, p3)

Next, is the synthesising mind, which “takes information from disparate sources, understands and evaluates information objectively and puts it together in ways that make sense” (Garder, 2007, p3).

The creating mind is the third mind, which “…puts forth new ideas, poses unfamiliar questions, conjures up fresh ways of thinking, arrives at unexpected answers” (Garder, 2007, p3).

Fourth is the respectful mind, which “notes and welcomes differences between human individuals…and…tries to understand these “others”, and seeks to work effectively with them” (Garder, 2007, p3)

Finally, the ethical mind “ponders the nature of one’s work and the needs and desires of the society in which one lives” (Garder, 2007, p3)

The reason in which this text appeals to me is because it is a modern way of thinking. That we do not learn or think the same way, and the world around us now needs to realise that. My favourite part of this reading is towards the end, in which Garder states; “…that current formal education still prepares students primarily for the world of the past, rather than for possible worlds of the future” (Garder, 2007, p17).

That is not to say that we should not learn history. For we need to learn from history to better the future. However, for us to continue to move forward, I strongly believe that we need to be reading and studying more current and up-to-date sources in which students of this era can engage in and understand.

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References

Howard Gardner, 2007, ‘Minds Viewed Globally: A Personal Introduction’ in Five Minds For the Future, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, ch.1.