Children who treat chatbots, AI, the metaverse, and the cloud as if they were their own bodies.
How can we understand and teach these new, unknown beings with enormous potential?
How should education change for the 21st-century alpha generation, who cannot be defined by the established generation?

"The World's First Children Are Coming" is a book by Mark Prensky, a world-renowned educational innovator and futurist, that presents a paradigm for future education for 21st century youth.
He focuses on the world 20 years from now (around 2040), a future that is neither too far nor too near.
Most of today's older generations worry about what will happen to their children in the next two to three years, or they tend to focus on relatively short-term periods, such as the 10-year plans put forth by the UN or OECD.
But it's important to focus on a longer-term, more predictable future.
This is because this period is equivalent to the time it takes for today's youth to grow up and lead the world.


The author defines today's youth as 'hybrid humans' who have become one with technology from birth.
He is also the first generation of 'digital natives', a new term he coined 20 years ago, and can be said to be a new generation of humans and the alpha generation with completely different capabilities, values, and beliefs from today's adults.
Therefore, a completely different 'perception (frame) shift' is needed not only in educating and nurturing them, but also in various areas such as their growth process, titles, living space, learning and skills, and occupations.
Because we can no longer help children with the old 20th century framework.
This book presents innovative and timely ideas about the new world our children will inhabit, and will challenge readers to think in a completely different way.
For educators confused about how to guide students who are so different from the older generation, parents of children who are addicted to smartphones, video games, and YouTube, and anyone curious about the future of education or seeking a shift in mindset, this will present the ultimate vision for understanding and preparing for the future.

The journey to capacity building is expected to take approximately 20 years.
This period is equivalent to the time it takes for today's youth born in the 21st century to grow up and lead the world.
This book is about today's youth generation and the process by which their capabilities are gradually strengthened.
And if the older generation doesn't block the way, this is a story about the space where the younger generation will live around 2040.
We must pay attention to this 20-year period.
This is because most of the current generation is concerned about what will happen to their children in the next two to three years, or they tend to focus on relatively short-term periods, such as the UN's 'Sustainable Development Goals' or the OECD's '10-year plan'.
For our children, it's important to focus on a more long-term, predictable future.

---「Chapter 1.
From “A New Journey for Youth”

Today's adults were born and raised in a 20th-century world where virtually no power was granted to a still-growing child.
Therefore, the new journey toward capacity building must begin with today's youth.
A key element in this journey is to transform the way today's youth, the 21st century human race, view the world.
Compared to the world of the 20th century, their world would be significantly different from what adults perceive.
Although most young people cannot yet articulate this clearly, some young people and adults are beginning to accept that the world is changing rapidly and that success in the mid- to late-21st century requires a "new growth process."

---「Chapter 1.
From “A New Journey for Youth”

If usefulness and benefit are the most important criteria for selecting a frame, it would not be optimal to define the frame of our time solely based on human dominance, industrial development, or technology.
I believe the most helpful framework for the coming new era is the “empowerment framework,” which focuses on the empowerment and strength of young people.
If the new generation uses this power only positively, this frame will have a positive impact on all aspects, including humans, industry, technology, and society as a whole.
Empowering young people will ultimately lead to empowering all of humanity.
I believe the most beneficial frame for the 21st century is one where youth have moved from a time when they were almost powerless to one where they can participate in society with greater power than ever before in history.
---「Chapter 3.
From "The Age of Youth"

Young people have already begun to move into a symbiotic relationship with technology.
Anyone who has experienced how difficult it is to completely take smartphones away from teenagers will nod in agreement.
So why is it so hard to put our smartphones away? Is it because they're so addictive? This is a common view, but it's flawed.
There are things that humans crave immediately after experiencing them, such as comfort or ease.
But we don't say we are 'addicted' to comfort or ease.
Our desire for more technology is not an addiction, but rather a kind of natural selection or evolution.
Humans who have technology always carry weapons that can maximize their abilities.
It's like having a new arm that can reach out wherever you want.

---「Chapter 4.
From "Who are the youth?"

The shift in perception I propose is to move away from viewing parents as the owners and controllers of their children, to viewing them as curators who bring out the uniqueness and added value of their children.
To help children develop their uniqueness and unique added value, and to strengthen their capabilities, parents must foster self-understanding, empower children, and allow them to form new symbiotic relationships with digital technologies from an early age.
Even in this new era of empowerment, adults can still play a vital role in children's development.
Adult guidance will be of great help in the child's growth process.
However, we must first realize that for this to become a growth process that leads to true capacity building, a new kind of guidance is needed.

---「Chapter 14.
From “Parenting for a New Era”

As we enter a new era of capacity building, activities that were once continuous, such as academic learning, are evolving into "short-term activities" with measurable results.
This is also in line with the trend of the times, which seeks speed and simplicity over complexity or boredom.
While some schools already offer project-based learning, as we've seen, these are often little more than a modified version of existing learning methods.
But now there is a way.
If our children are to thrive more than they do now, we need a shift in how we prepare them for adulthood.
So, I believe we need to move beyond the notion that preparing for adulthood requires taking courses or completing job training, and instead move toward a new approach: continuously working on real-world projects that impact the world, and in the process acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully complete them.
---「 Chapter 17.
From "What is a Capacity Building Hub?"

Today's youth face a world where applying their uniqueness and creativity is paramount, rather than preparing for the future or replacing previous generations.
In the new world, it is important to create added value in your own unique way.
Humans in the 21st century will be best able to help the world when they discover their true selves through the process of creating unique added value.
There will never be a shortage of dreams for humanity to realize, problems to fix, and people in need, and a desire to help others.
In this new era of empowerment, realizing dreams, solving problems, and helping people will be the "new things."

---「Chapter 20.
From “Definition of Work for the New Era”