A Hero’s Journey for the 21st Century | Edutopia
Indeed, the heroes of the 21st century will need different skills and abilities than those of yore. They need a narrative that helps them orient in the increasingly complex world in which they live. They need flexibility to deal with ever-changing social and technological landscapes. They need listening and negotiation skills to be able to work with others whose opinions and needs may differ. They need to reframe the terms of the battle from "us vs. them" to "where do we share a common goal, and how can we collaborate to create something bigger than each of us?" As educators, we have an opportunity to help our students develop appropriate 21st century narratives to take with them on their journey...
Back in the olden days, there was a clear distinction between storyteller and audience. Now that we have literally hundreds of new social story platforms, we are co-creating stories with others all the time. As such, our new heroes are no longer lone warriors. Instead, they can witness each others' epic wins and fails, and offer support to one another from worlds away when the going gets tough.
Of course, the social storyweb creates all kinds of new quests for our young heroes. We have new issues of identity and digital citizenship...
