By Jeff Waller
If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that the future is unpredictable. Yet we often teach children for a world that already exists—or that once existed—instead of preparing them for a future we can’t fully imagine. Our educational priorities still emphasize memorization and specific technical skills, even though the tools students use and the careers they will enter are changing faster than ever.
Recently I asked my son to spell “entrepreneur.” He pulled out his phone, opened an app, and produced the correct spelling within seconds. That made me question whether we should spend so much time drilling spelling when students can instantly access correct spellings and definitions. Wouldn’t it be more valuable to teach the power of words—their use in storytelling, persuasion, and leadership?
I also remember six grueling semesters of college calculus. Not long ago I typed a complex double integral into an online computation engine and immediately received the exact answer. Knowing how to solve advanced math problems is valuable, but is rote ability to perform calculations the highest priority? Or is it more important to help students understand how mathematical thinking clarifies patterns, predictions, and decisions in the real world?
Spelling and advanced math are important skills, but children growing up today face a rapidly evolving landscape. Many of the most in-demand jobs did not exist a few years ago. Some current skills may become obsolete or irrelevant by the time today’s students enter the workforce. Even social skills we taught a decade ago—like how to handle bullying—don’t fully address online harassment and social media dynamics.
As a parent, I confess I don’t know which specific technical skills will best support my children’s long-term happiness, meaning, and contribution. What matters more than any single skill is how they think. Their mindsets—the habitual perspectives and attitudes they bring to situations—will determine their capacity to adapt, find joy, and make a positive impact.
Mindsets-Based Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Mindsets-Based SEL emphasizes the default lenses through which students view themselves, others, their environment, and the future. These lenses strongly influence feelings, choices, and behavior. As educators and parents shift toward Mindsets-Based instructional strategies, several defining attributes emerge that make such approaches effective.
- Grounded in neuroplasticity: This approach recognizes that the brain can change and grow. Research, including work related to growth mindset, shows the brain is dynamic across the lifespan and particularly responsive during childhood and adolescence. While mastering procedures is useful, intentionally cultivating the brain’s capacity to learn, thrive, and pursue meaning is a central goal of Mindsets-Based SEL.
- Rooted in positive psychology: Rather than focusing only on interventions after trauma occurs, Mindsets-Based SEL equips students with perspectives and tools to handle emotions constructively before crises arise. The emphasis is on prevention and resilience—teaching students to process emotions in ways that reduce the likelihood of severe mental health challenges.
- Emotionally informed and experiential: Lasting change often depends on intensity and emotional engagement. Research shows that emotional experiences can accelerate learning and brain change. The most memorable, transformative moments in life tend to be emotionally charged. For SEL to be effective, it should be reflective, experiential, and emotionally resonant so students internalize positive perspectives and prosocial behaviors.
- Focused on root perspectives: At the heart of human behavior are the assumptions we hold about ourselves, others, and the future. Because we can’t predict every skill a child will need, Mindsets-Based solutions prioritize cultivating adaptive lenses—ways of thinking that guide healthy decision-making in unfamiliar and changing circumstances. Developing these foundational perspectives supports better emotional responses and more effective choices over time.
For many years we taught entrepreneurship to inner-city youth. That work had measurable success: young people changed course, pursued goals, and altered their life trajectories. Yet it wasn’t entrepreneurship as a specific technical skill that produced the deepest change. Rather, it was the entrepreneurial mindset—the shift in how students perceived themselves, their opportunities, and their future—that mattered most. That mindset influenced their decisions, motivated prosocial behaviors, and supported achievement in school and beyond.
There’s a saying that perhaps the greatest gift a parent can give a child is the confidence to live independently. In an era of rapid technological change, globalization, and pervasive social media influences, teaching a fixed set of trade skills or facts is no longer sufficient. Our children will encounter situations we can’t predict.
What we can do is help them relate to the world in healthy, adaptive ways. By cultivating lenses that shape how they view themselves, their relationships, their circumstances, and their futures, we give them the tools to make constructive, resilient choices in an uncertain world. Ultimately, it will be their mindsets—not a fixed inventory of facts—that shape their lives and enable them to thrive.
About the author
Jeff Waller is vice president of educational services at 7 Mindsets, and co-author of The 7 Mindsets.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media organization focused on the shift toward digital curriculum in education.