The prefix ‘re’ has re-curred extraordinarily in the past few months, courtesy the pandemic re-ality.  Precincts have crumbled, and standard practices of knowledge acquisition have been erased. While this has been a moment of awakening from the slumber of normalcy, the transition into new spaces of learning have indeed been challenged under the spell of constant anxiety of ‘what next’ and ‘how now’?

In all these turbulent times, the unyielding spirit of human resilience has also been tested while dealing with extreme phases of volatility, and continuously fortified by the most important shapers of tomorrow that is through institutes of learning.

Inevitability of change reflected in last few months has brought in a new circumstantial dimension in our lives as educators, reinforcing the need of a differentiated response for an uncertain future, but the question remains – are we ready?

Readiness is a state of mind, and this kernel of wisdom must be treasured. As Timothy Gallwey writes, “The opponent in our mind is way stronger than the one existing in reality, over the net”, our anxieties are much larger than the contexts we thrive in and the complexities that dominate us.

The value of readiness is so critical and has proved to be the single differentiator of successful people. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” shared Abraham Lincoln, many years back where the external forces were not even defined by the VUCA influence.  

 Readiness also means to exercise patience in arriving at conclusions based on apparent corollaries. This is very movingly shared in Nelson Mandela’s experience of sitting with his father during meeting with tribesmen which taught him the core practice of ‘holding one’s judgement’ and not inferring without a judicious analysis.

Readiness is about ‘being ready’, not ‘being reactive’, and therefore it requires a deeper, concerted effort to receive and sieve external information and to assimilate and compute it for effective and efficient decision making and this is where we all can contribute significantly.

Readiness for the new education world shall unquestionably include the tantalising influence of technology, the ambitious interplay of analytics, the power of skills and magic of mastery. Most importantly it shall be about making sense of the ecosystem we thrive in, as the learning and evolution of individuals is driven by their ambience.

The darkest of nights break into the brightest of lights that shine and radiate the joy of a new day. Sensibility by remaining informed and sagacity of being ready shall help us break new grounds and create an exemplar in higher education.