he Futures Thinking Playbook will be what students and teachers need to help them anticipate and influence the future.
Our Story
Teach the Future was officially launched three years ago. In that time, more and more K-12 and college teachers have begun to introduce futures thinking into their classrooms. In May 2015, we conducted a successful fundraising campaign that populated our Library with over 60 activities, lessons and units that teachers can use free of charge.
Our Project
Our supporters have told us they need more. They need a resource that can guide them and their students through this process of thinking about the future. The Futures Thinking Playbook, a fun and engaging tool that will support young people’s creative and critical thinking about the future, is that resource. The idea for the playbook was inspired by the WagiLabs Playbook, a book on creativity for kids 8-11 conceived by Chic Thompson. The first lesson we learned from his experience is that we cannot do this alone.
Why It's Worth Your Support
Which world will our students be living in as adults—Past? Present? Future?
That future world will be different from the present and even more different from the past
in many, significant ways. Should we not be preparing our students for those differences?
The Futures Thinking Playbook will open their minds to many possible futures.
Our Planned Partnerships
We are good teachers who understand this content intimately. But we need experts in other areas -- design, publishing, children’s educational entertainment -- if we hope to make The Futures Playbook the compelling centerpiece of Teach the Future’s efforts. For their expertise, we need money. Here are our hiring plans so far:
- Katie King is the Deputy Director of Teach the Future and the principal author for the book. She comes to this task with an undergraduate degree in communications, three years in public relations in the non-profit section, selection as a young teacher by Teach for America, five years teaching writing to middle school students in Texas and California, and a Master's degree in Foresight from the University of Houston. Katie is also a consultant with KnowledgeWorks, an educational consultancy that regularly forecasts the future of education.
- Sandy Damashek, a children's media visionary, is excited about consulting with us on this project. Having spent many years at Sesame Street (Children’s Television Workshop), Sandy has broad experience developing cutting edge educational programming and games for television, interactive media, and the classroom, and has written more than 30 children's books. Her creative perspective and experience adapting material from popular media for use with students will be especially valuable.
- Julia Rose West is a credentialed practitioner of Futures Thinking as well as an experienced designer. We have seen her capabilities in her recent book What The Foresight: Your Personal Future Explored. She helps young people reach their preferred future with graphic images and planning tools. She will be the designer of our book.
- Sarah Rebar, who currently works for Sesame Street, will illustrate the book. Her playful images inspire children. "I want to make people smile when they see my work."
Our Timetable
Our aim is to complete a first draft of the material by May so we can use it in a series of summer workshops we are hosting in Houston and elsewhere. We’ll publish the playbook after we revise it using feedback from the teachers and students who use it this summer.
Where You Come in
To feed your mind, we'll hold an online launch meeting in the fall. You can log or dial in and hear from our team about the experience of making the book, and you'll have the opportunity to ask questions. We look forward to meeting you there!
