The 21st century presents us with great hopes, dreams, ideas and challenges. Our society has become more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. This has served to emphasize the need for efficiency, cooperation and conservation. We must be creative and effective in addressing issues.
The cultural, ethnic, racial, language and socioeconomic differences of our communities continue to be a serious challenge to developing a truly equitable and just society. Our history has left us with many of these issues yet to be resolved or eradicated. On February 1, 1903 W.E.B. Dubois, a great African-American scholar, said “...for the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line.” As we enter this twenty-first century we continue to see issues of race, color and ethnicity being major problems in our society still.
Change has become a constant in our world. Personal change, community change, organizational and institutional change have become an ongoing part of our society whether we like it or not. We must think and teach creatively. We must produce effective leaders and teach dynamic leadership skills to succeed in facing the challenges and uncertainties ahead of us. We must learn to harness and use the incredible power of diversity and change. If we do not do so we will not reach our potential, we will fail ourselves.
The challenges for the twenty-first century are great, but, in the same breath, so are the opportunities. Again for one of the few times in our history we are having a serious discussion about what our democracy means for all persons. We are seeing more and more valid participation by previously excluded persons and the institutional roadblocks to a truly multicultural, diverse, equitable society are being challenged and torn down daily. Our children are bringing us to this valid discussion and will most certainly continue to carry us forward into this twenty-first century, challenging us to truly become part of the world we are teaching them and empowering them to create right in front of us.
To prepare our people for their roles in our society requires that we provide them with knowledge, skills and attitudes to participate and function in a multicultural society, to communicate across cultures, to be successful in their personal, social and civic interactions. We must share with them a strong sense of fairness, equity, liberty and justice for all. Preparing ourselves for the future is the best investment we can make for a better twenty-first century.
|
