I can’t believe we used to …

Photo of class 4A1 at Ryde Public School, Australia, in 1963.

I follow the social media feeds of Graeme Codrington, a well-known and highly respected South African professional speaker who may (or may not?) be a distant relative of mine.  His often-provocative discussions are invariably stimulating and thought-provoking as well as entertaining and informative.  During his keynote presentation at the Professional Speaking Association annual summit last year, he posed an intriguing question: “What can we imagine saying in the future, when we look back, to complete the sentence ‘I can't believe we used to _____’?”.

Following my reflection on the past, I was ready to turn my mind to Graeme Codrington’s question – “What can we imagine saying in the future, when we look back, to complete the sentence ‘I can't believe we used to _____’?”.  I imagined myself as a commentator on education in, say, 2065, and I could see myself claiming “I can’t believe we used to….”: 

and perhaps most significantly of all:

We know that values in societies around the world are changing rapidly.  Ideas that were once acceptable are no longer acceptable, and practices that were once taboo are now widely accepted.  For example, the top-rating television series “Succession” could not have been made in the 1970s, just as “All in the Family” and “Fawlty Towers” could not be made today, all because of changing views of the types of language that were (or are) acceptable.

When you reflect on today’s schools and education, how do YOU think people 40 years from now will complete the sentence “I can't believe we used to _____’”?.

- Dr Stephen Codrington

Remarkably, the training book for senior executives shown in the photo below was published only about 20 years ago.

Exercise 25 in the training manual for CFMP.

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