UNIT I

st
21 Century: My New World, My New Being

Chapter 1: Where Am I Heading?

Introduction
How is life in the 21st century? Who is a 21st century learner? How can he/she survive in
the 21st century workplace?

This chapter will present the vast context of the 21 st century world and the learner’s
survival. Our society is modern and fast-paced, globally networked, technologically oriented,
and overwhelming with varies changes and development. It requires learners who think
critically, make judicious decisions, and act with prudence.

Utilizing emerging ways of doing things, learners today use various forms of technology
for different situations to address predicaments, analyze issues and problems, and come up with
wise decisions. Their expanded experiences are keys to their learning and success. Twenty-first
century learners are given choices and options to survive the workplace and thrive in the modern
world.

LESSON 1: THE 21ST CENTURY WORLD

_____________________________________________________________________________

Introduction
The 21st century reveals an unfathomable dawn of a modern era. James Martin calls is as
the “make or break century.” He said, “Humanity’s demands on the planet are growing rapidly.
If we are able to make the planet and civilization work, we face a magnificent future. If we fail,
we could be headed for a new Dark Age.” (Martin 2014)

Terms to Define Main Ideas

 21st century
 Shrewd triage
 Info-whelm
  The onset of the 21st century world has greatly changed the lives and events of humanity.
 The kinds of jobs and the way people live will keep changing.
 The world faces many challenges in the new century.

Let’s Recall

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “21st century?
Form a group of four members. Make a concept map on the 21 st century world. Post your
concept map on the wall in the classroom and present it in the class.

The 21st Century World

Objectives
1. Identify the 21st century world.
2. Discover the demands of the 21st century world
3. Explain why and how an individual needs to prepare and cope in the 21st century world.

The 21st Century Culture

What are the defining characteristics of the 21 st century culture? How has culture shifted
during the 21st century? What are the drivers / forces that caused this significant shift in culture?
 The 21st century has dawned amazing achievements, surprising milestones,
innovations, and change in modes of thinking. It has unveiled enormous challenges as
well- the demands in meeting the possibilities of fulfillment and triumph. All these unfold
on a global stage.
One of the significant changes is the Internet. Specifically, the speed of the
Internet has significantly affected the way people choose and decide. Greene (2014)
mentioned in his research that growing Internet access in the Philippines poses
opportunities and challenges for many kinds of companies. It has provided an
“increasingly fertile channel for connecting with consumers, while entirely new markets
are opening in a range of internet sectors, including online retail, gaming, photo sharing,
cloud services, music and more.”
All these trends good or bad? How can one make use of this trend in promoting
social good? Are networks good or bad? How can one make use of social networks in
promoting social good?
One promising potential of the 21st century is leading learners to become learned
and responsible citizens in the context of today’s global society. Success in the 21st
century requires everyone to understand how learn independently. Moreover, it brings
imperatives to develop fair- mindedness along with interpersonal communication skills,
both written and oral, for the interconnected and complex world.
Howard Gardner in his book Five Minds for the Future featured the following:
“ In the Age of Info-Whelm, students are bombarded by information 24/7. Shrewd
triage becomes an imperative. Those who develop a synthesizing mind will rise to the
top.
Synthesizing is not a one-time process. New information must be acquired,
probed, evaluated, followed up with, or sidelined….there is constant reflection and
tinkering.
Good synthesizers always keep an eye on the big picture while securing and
arranging the smaller details in useful ways; one must know what works for oneself and
for those who make use of their synthesis.
We must help our students learn to make use of information and media in
meaningful ways.”

Vocabulary:
Shrewd-having or showing a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical
matters: suggests a sharp intelligence.
Triage(trē-ˈäzh)- a process in which things are ranked in terms of importance or priority;(v.) to
sort or allocate by triange. Triage the patients according to their symptoms.
Shrewd triage- having a clever awareness and sharp intelligence in identifying which needs
much attention.

Pair and Share

1. What do you mean by info-whelm? Describe.
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What does becoming shrewd-triage meaning? Cite examples.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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Active Reading
In his blog, “ JAMES MARTIN: The Meaning of the 21st Century,” Dr. James Martin
(2014) has listed the following megaproblems. According to him these problems are
multinational. All countries participate, to varying degrees, in causing most of the problems.
None of these could be solved by one country, all countries should participate in addressing the
problems.
Read the megaproblems listed and figure out if those are really happening. Rate those
according to the following range: 5 as most likely to happen and 1 as not likely to happen. Then,
answer the questions in Exercise 1. Share your answer with your seatmate.

Global warming results in severe climate change. It will upset the basic control
mechanisms of planet earth.

Excessive population growth result in 8.9 billion people, with an overwhelming demand
for consumer goods and carbon-based energy, more than what the Mother Earth can contain.
 Water shortages. Farmers will not have the water essential for food growing. There will
be chaos over water.
Destruction of life in the oceans.
Mass famine in ill-organized countries results in high cost of grains which harms the
Third World.
The spread of deserts Soil is being eroded. Barren lands are spreading in areas that used
to have good soil and grassland.
Infectious pandemics could spread and unstoppable rates, as they have in the past, but
now with capability to kill enormous number of people.
Extreme poverty. Two or three billion people live in extreme poverty are growing in
many parts of the world.
Growth of shanty clients with extreme violence and poverty are growing in many parts of
the world.
Unstoppable global migrations.
Non-state actors with extreme weapons. Nuclear or biological weapons are becoming
easier to build by terrorist organizations, political groups or individuals, who are not acting for a
given state.
Violent religious extremism results in large number of suicide terrorists, and religious
war between Muslims and Christians.
Runaway computer intelligence results in machines becoming more intelligent at
electronic speed.
War that could end civilization results in today’s vast number of nuclear weapons and
new biological weapons which could end civilization.
Risks to homo sapien’s existence lead to wiping out homo sapiens. The combination of
risks gives a relatively high probability of not surviving the century.
New Dark Age turns to intolerable poverty and outrageous wealth, starvation, mass
terrorism with nuclear/biological weapons, world war, deliberate pandemics and religious
insanity may espouse the worldwide pattern of unending hatred and violence.

Exercise 1
Answer the following questions.
1. In the list of megaproblems, which do you think are most likely to happen? Which are
not?
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What are the possible consequences if those will happen?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. Why do you think those would happen? Why not?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

RHDA: Read, Highlight, Define, Answer

 After reading the following poem, highlight the unfamiliar words. List them and
find their messages using any dictionary. Answer the questions at the end of the poem.

The Paradox of Our Time

Bob Moorehead

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers;

wide freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less;
we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families,

more convenience, but less time;
we have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgement;
more experts, yet more problems,
more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much,

spend too recklessly, laugh too little.
drive too fast, get too angry.
stay up too large, get up too tired,
read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
we have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love to seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life,
we’ve added years to life not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have
trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor,
We conquered outer space but not inner space.
We’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less,
We plan more, but accomplish less.
We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold move information to
produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less,

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion;

big men and smaller character;
steep profits and shallow relationships.
These are the days of two incomes but more divorce.
fancier houses but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,

Throw-away morality, one-night stands,
Overweight bodies, and pills that do everything
From cheer to quiet, to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and
can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose
either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones,
because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up

to you in awe, because that little person soon
will grow up and leave your side,
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you,
because that is only treasure you can give with
your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say “I love you” to your partner and

your loved ones, but most of all mean it.
A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Give time to Love, give time to speak, give time to
share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Questions:
1. Why is time called a paradox? What does this poem tell you?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Do these paradoxes happen today? How?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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3. Choose two paradoxes and cite examples on how they happen to you.
________________________________________________________________________
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Exercise 2
From triads. Answer and discuss the following questions: one will be the facilitator;
second, the recorder; and third, reporter.

1. What does the 21st century world offer?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What are the challenges in the 21st century?
 _____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Let’s Anchor Your Learning

Illustrate through symbols of the 21st century world and its milestones and demands and why
everyone needs to prepare and cope with it.

CRITICAL THINKING CORNER

1. How and why has the world changed?
2. How do I equip myself with 21st century skills in order to cope?
REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS

1. Outline your learning from this lesson.

 A.

B.

C.

D.
II. Define the terms used in this lesson.
1. 21st century world

2. Shrewd triange

3. Info-whelm

4. Synthesizing

III. Formulate and raise questions regarding this lessons.

1.
2.
IV. Get Organized
Use five Ws chart to organize the information you have learned from this lesson.
 What?

Who?

Where?

When?

Why?

V. Synthesize
What have you learned from this lesson? Write your answer in the box in paragraph form.

LESSON 2: THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER

Introduction
The 21st century world definitely requires 21st century skills.
Embarking in this technology-propelled age requires one to think deeply about any
emerging issues, solve problems creatively, collaborate with a team, communicate clearly, learn
fast-changing technologies, and deal with overwhelming information. The rapid changes compel
one to be flexible, to take the initiative and lead when needed, and to produce something new
and useful.
Mcleod (2010) said, “Education, as the primary avenue, focuses on the development and
use of skills such as critical thinking and problem –solving, written and oral communication,
collaboration, creativity and innovation. These skills are imperative for every learner to cultivate
to be able to survive today’s world.”

Terms to Define
 Critical thinking and problem- Main Ideas
solving
 The 21st century learner is facing
 Communication, information, and
media literacy enormous challenges.
 Collaboration, teamwork, and  The 21st century learner has to be
leadership
equipped with the skills needed to
 Creativity and innovation
 Career and learning self-reliance cope with the demands of the
 Cross-cultural understanding changing times.
 Computer and ICT literacy

Let’s Recall
Give a word or two to describe the following terms:
1. Critical thinking__________________________________________________________
2. Creative thinking _________________________________________________________
3. Collaborating ____________________________________________________________
4. Communicating __________________________________________________________
5. Information literacy _______________________________________________________
6. Media literacy ___________________________________________________________
 7. Technology literacy _______________________________________________________
8. Flexibility _______________________________________________________________
9. Initiative ________________________________________________________________
10. Optimism _______________________________________________________________
11. Resilience _______________________________________________________________
12. Adaptability _____________________________________________________________
13. Global stewardship________________________________________________________

Objectives

1. Identify the 21st century skills.

2. Discover how to get equipped with the 21st century skills.
3. Apply the 21st century skills.

Let’s Take a Look

The 21st Century Skills:

Skills for the 21st Century Challenges
Coping with the demands of the digital society, we, the digital native learners need additional
skills to react to the challenges of the 21st century. Siemens (2006, cited in Brockbank and
McGill 2007) listed the following skills:
(1) Anchoring; staying focused on important tasks while undergoing a deluge of distractions;
(2) Filtering: Managing knowledge flow and extracting important elements;
(3) Connecting with each other: Building networks in order to continue to stay current and
informed;
(4) Being human together: Interacting at a human, not only utilitarian, level to form social
spaces;
(5) Creating and deriving meaning: Understanding implications, comprehending meaning
and impact;
(6) Evaluation and authentication: Determining the value of knowledge and ensuring
authenticity;
(7) Altered processes of validation: Validating people and ideas with appropriate context;
(8) Critical and creative thinking: Employing standards of thinking, knowing the box before
going outside the box.
 (9) Pattern recognition: Decision-making process in defining a problem.
(10) Navigation of the knowledge landscape: navigating between repositories, people,
technology, and ideas while achieving intended purposes;
(11) Acceptance of uncertainty: Balancing what is known with the unknown to see
how existing knowledge relates to what we do not know; and
(12) Contextualizing: Careful consideration of the situation.

Mastery of the aforementioned skills ensures the certainty and correctness of our
response to a given situation.

The composition of the 21st century skills has also been summarized by trilling
and Fadel (2009) using the following formula: 3Rsx 7Cs=21st Century Learning. The
more traditionally established skills is the 3Rs: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, which
is the first key component. The second key component, the 7Cs, standards for Critical
thinking and problem-solving; Communication, information, and media literacy;
Collaboration, teamwork, and leadership: Creativity and innovation; Career and learning
self reliance; Cross-cultural understanding; and computer and ICT literacy.

ACTIVE READING
For a time,the Intel Education programs support teachers in creating 21st century classrooms for
their students and help students to experience a 21st century curriculum through community-
based technology centers.
The 2st century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to
succeed in the Information Age. The following are the skills according to three types:

1. Learning Styles
 Critical Thinking
 Creative Thinking
 Collaborating
 Communicating
2. Literacy skills
 Information Literacy
 Media Literacy
 Technology Literacy
3. Life Skills
 Flexibility
 Initiative
 Social Skills
 Productivity
  Leadership

RHDA: Read, Highlight, Define, Answer

After reading the following article, highlight the unfamiliar words. List them and find
their meanings using any dictionary. Answer the questions at the end of the article.

Why 21st Century Children Need to Excel at Problem-Solving

Samuel Greiff and Jonas Muller
It is no longer enough for children just to be able to read, count, or multiply. With
computers now doing many mundane repetitive tasks for us, many jobs in today’s world require
analytical skills and the ability to solve unexpected problems.
For the first time. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) has attempted to measure countries progress at teaching children how to do this.

The OECD hosts one of the major large-scale assessments of students competencies in
the world, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). More than half a million
15-year- old students from across the globe are evaluated every three years on their performance
in classical domains of education, such as reading, mathematics, and science literacy.
In 201, the OECD extended its PISA test to include a section on creative problem-
solving. Students across the globe were asked to apply their skills to problems not found within
their everyday textbooks.

Brain in Gear
The OECD creative problem-solving test is used a range of so-called “microproblems”:
small computer simulations of problems that require the active exploration of the situation and
the application of knowledge gained he way. Compared to the multiple-choice tests commonly
used in large scale assessments, they require the active acquisition of knowledge within a new
situation and subsequent application of that knowledge to a complex problem.
For example, in one of the problems, students have find out how several controls of an air
conditioner influence humidity and temperature. To do so, they have to systematically
manipulate the controls of the air conditioner and then observe the changes that result from their
manipulations.
There are several levels of proficiency students can achieve, rated from 1 (lowest) to 6
(highest). Whereas students rated in the lowest proficiency level have problems in dealing with
all the most straightforward problems, higher levels indicate an increasing level of competency
to deal with ill- defined and more complex problems. The PISA report on problem –solving
found the across all OECD countries, 11.4% of the 15-year-olds tested got above level fine.
Singapore, Korea, and Japan scored highest.
 These high-performing students can be expected to be better prepared for the challenges
awaiting them in our modern world. Ultimately, we would expect educational policy to strive for
a focus on these kinds of outcomes.
One of the key findings of PISA 2012 is that the highest-performing school systems
allocate their resources more equitably across schools and offer autonomy to schools. When it
comes to strengthening the problem-solving skills of students, the way teachers and students
reflect different solutions or strategies to problems instead of teaching rules has been proven to
be an important factor.
Based on the problem-solving results, citizens in the UK can be quite content with their
students, teachers, and educators. UK-based 15-year-olds surpassed their performance in the
PISA tests of reading, mathematics, and science. They also ranked favorably in a group with
students from other high performing Western economies, such as Estonia, Germany, and
Finland, who showed above average problem-solving performance.
These problem solving test also show children’s potential much more clearly. The impact
of socio-economic status on a child’s ability to solve problems has been found to be weaker than
it is on their ability to read or perform math or science tasks across the participating countries.
In the UK,the weaker relation between socio-economic status and performance in
problem-solving compared to the other subjects was even more pronounced. Disadvantaged
students seem better able to show their cognitive potential when being evaluated on their
problem-solving skills compared to the classical dimensions of reading, math, and science
focused on by previous PISA rankings.

Outside the Box

Inevitably, comparing the reading skills and schooling systems in countries as diverse as
Kazakhstan, Korea and Oatar have its difficulties. Still, the PISA studies have had a tremendous
impact on education, leading to efforts to reorganize education in several countries including
Japan, Denmark, and Germany.
In today’s world, the routine operation of checking an essay for spelling mistakes is
becoming increasingly automated. But handling new problems without pre-specified training or
knowledge has become a major part of our working life. The daily work of an average employee
nowadays includes more and more non-routine tasks that require novel solutions or at least some
thinking outside of manuals and orders.
The question arises whether our education system are keeping pace with these
developments. Now the positive findings of the creative problem-solving test give hope for
generations of capable problem solvers coming out school in the years to come.

Questions:
1. Why do the 21st century learners need to excel in problem-solving?
2. Do education system make learners excel in problem-solving? Why? Why not?
LET’S ANCHOR YOUR LEARNING

Exercise 1
How shall 21st century learners equip themselves to the present demands of the workplace?
Find a partner. Complete the table below. List down the things needed to equip you to the
present demands of this century.

Skills What shall I do?

How shall I get ready?

Anchoring

Filtering

Connecting with each other

Being human together

Creating and Deriving Meaning

Evaluation and Authentication

Altered Processes of Validation

Critical and Creative Thinking

Patter Recognition

Navigation of the Knowledge Landscape

Acceptance of Uncertainty

Contextualizing

Exercise 2
Answer the following questions
 1. Which 21st century skills in Exercise 1 most likely possessed by individuals today?
Which are not?
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2. What skills seem to be lacking? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
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3. How do you think individuals shall equip themselves?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Identify your 21st century skills.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. Which do you think you need to improve on? How?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

CRITICAL THINKING CORNER

 1. Which skill shall cultivate to become more prudent and responsible?

2. How do I propagate these 21st century skills?

REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS

I. Outline your learning from this lesson.

A.

B.

C.

D.

II. Define the terms used in this lesson.

 1. Critical thinking and problem-solving
2. Communication, information, and media literacy
3. Collaboration, teamwork, and leadership
4. Creativity and innovation
5. Career and learning self-reliance
6. Cross-cultural understanding
7. Computer and ICT literacy

III. Formulate and raise questions regarding this lesson.

1.

2.

IV. Get Organized

IV. Get Organized

Use five Ws chart to organize the information you have learned from this lesson.
What?

Who?

Where?
 When?

Why?

V. Synthesize
What have you learned from this lesson? Write your answer in the box in paragraph form.
CULMINATING ACTIVITY

Build Your Skills: Practice, Extend, and Apply

Here’s What

Performance task is expected to deliver. Product of learning shall be seen as well. Ten
hours for the five tasks in the culminating period to extend assessment, apply learning,
and build skills.

Here’s Why

Teamwork in fulfilling the tasks is required to enhance collaboration. Other 21st century
skills shall be employed in fulfilling the tasks. Learning outcomes shall be seen at the
end.

Here’s How

Each group is expected to synthesize the chapter by choosing five tasks. Writing an essay
and a resolution is a must. Groups of learners (learning barkadas) will together choose
from the following tasks. They are required to deliver the tasks by performing or creating
them to be submitted at the end of each chapter. Each of the five tasks is given two-hour
credit: one hour for preparation and one hour for presentation.

Tasks

1. Design a blog
2. Film-making/Documentary film
3. Dramatization/Creative play/Do hip-hop or rap
4. Poetry-making and Poetry reading
5. Digital poster-making (to be posted in Facebook Timeline and Instagram)
6. Journalism (Make a news release)
7. Photography
8. Design a collage/murals
9. Hold a debate
10. Conduct a forum
11. Design a brochure or newsletter
12. Act as news anchor
13. Presentation of cultural heritage via creative play
14. Case study
15. Concert for a cause
16. Panel discussion
17. Essay writing
18. Writing a resolution
19. Planning a campaign
20. Coming up with a p lan of action.
 Lesson 2: Trends and Fads: SPOTTING, ACCEPTING, AND REJECTING

Introduction

Fads and trends emerge everywhere. They occur in any given time and context. How do
they differ? How do they impact life?

The interplay between fads and trends issues a number of challenges in the 21st century.
It is imperative to gain a keen analysis on this. This lesson will present the differences
between a fad and a trend and how anyone can spot, accept, or reject them.

Terms to Define
Main Ideas
 Trend  Trends and fads are emerging quickly.
 Fad  Anyone can intelligently spot, accept, or reject any emerging fad
or trend.
 The 21st century world is a deluge of challenges brought about
by various fads and trends.

Let’s Recall

Give examples of a fad.

1. ____________ 6. ____________
2. ____________ 7. ____________
3. ____________ 8. ____________
4. ____________ 9. ____________
5. ____________ 10. ___________

Objectives

1. Discover the differences between a trend and a fad.

2. Speculate the trends that will emerge in the future.
3. Apply critical thinking in spotting a fad and a trend.
Let's Take a Look

Spotting a Trend
Trend is a gradual change and development that produces a particular result. The following are
words which describe what a trend is.
 Trend towards/to: “We’ve seen a trend towards more violent films this year.”
 Trend in: “The latest trends in popular music is….”
 An upward/downward trend: “Today’s figure continue the upward trend in the stock
market.”
 Follow a trend: “Everyone seems to be following the trend for straight shiny hairstyles.”
 Buck a trend (not to be affected by a general trend): “Dell announced profits up by 30%
bucking the trend in the troubled high-tech market.”

Give more examples by providing one for each of the terms above.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Active Reading

Trend Defined

Trend is a "recurrent phenomenon that takes place over time and gives rise to speculation on the
future (sanders, Soper, and Rothwell 2002). Trends analysis is "an examination of these
phenomena and speculation on the likely impact they will have in the future. Any given
phenomenon and prediction which likely to happen or any craze/tad o trend that would likely
emerge needs to be examined.

Cornish (2004) and Canton (2006) defined trends as a collage of present circumstances that
extend current patterns into the future. Trends analysis grants societies “future vision”
allowing populations to be proactive in response to future events. Included in a definition of a
trend are three commonalities that trends share:
1. Trends are a complex synthesis of information from a wide variety of fields
2. All trends use pattern identification and recognition to make predictions when talking
about the future.
3. Trends use time frames to evaluate their evolution.

Trends are best guesses for future events or patterns that are based on present peripheral and
historical information. This information can be obtained by sophisticated methods such as
computer modeling, polling, Surveying, or it can be compiled through retroactive analysis of past
trends. Synthesizing many factors and considering a multitude of variables allow humans to
simplify the complexity and chaos of the interrelatedness of events into à reality that can
accommodate present modalities of thought (Cornish 2004).

Fads are normally micro trends that exist under the umbrella of an actual trend (Naisbitt 2006)
Trends are often classified as short-term-one to three years, mid-term three to ten years, or long-
term-ten to 50 years (Cornish 2004). The ability to frame a trend in time is what ultimately gives
a trend its credibility. Thinking of trends along a linear timeline however is not always correct as
trends can revert back on themselves becoming cyclical or trends can fuse or converge with other
trends occurring in the same time frame(Canton 2006).

Trending is an important skill in the 21st century affording those inclined a portal into the future.
In addition, trends allow for preemptive judgments and actions toward future events and
conditions. Due to the interrelatedness of all things in the universe, trends are a complex fusion
of past, present, and future information and represent humans' best guess predictions over time.

The trend toward portable music players, on the other hand, started with the invention of big,
heavy, portable "boom boxes and morphed into personal CD players-continuing to grow and
change into the MP3 portable music player phenomenon that we see today.

Fad Defined

Fad is something, such as an interest or fashion, that is very popular for a short time (Merriam-
Webster's Learner's Dictionary). A fad is a product that has little, if any, utility but is
characterized by a quick rise in sales and popularity followed by a quick decline in sales and
popularity. This quick up and down in sales is because tad products usually do not satisfy a
strong consumer need. Nevertheless, tads seldom completely die out with some hardcore
followers remaining loyal.

Let's look at some classic examples of fad:

 hula hoop
 yo-yo
 virtual pets
 Frisbee
 Pokemon
 Hello Kitty
 Loomband

A fad is an intense but short-lived fashion. It is widely-shared enthusiasm for something.

especially one that is short-lived. It is temporary fashion, a craze, interest, or activity that people
follow enthusiastically, but lasts for a short period of time.
A fad is different from a trend in that fad always has a definite beginning and end. A trend, on
the other hand, evolves and changes as it continues to grow.
They say that to follow a trend, one must not only be conscious of what is currently happening,
but be astute enough to predict what will happen in the future. Try the following exercise.
Identify if the statements in the first column are a trend or a fad then write your prediction.

Trend/Fad Prediction
More kids love playing with
loombands
Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza)
used dubsmash and got so
popular overnight. Dubsmash
is mobile app that creates
short selfie videos dubbed
with famous sounds.
High fructose corn syrup is
present in fruit juices, cakes,
ice cream, sweets, and
chocolates, and was found to
be the culprit for obesity and
 diabetes.
More and more youth today
are fond of using high-tech
gadgets like tablets and
smartphones.
More people around the globe
are playing the mobile app
Pokemon Go.

RHDA: Read, Highlight, Define, Answer

Read the following article. Highlight the unfamiliar words. List them and find their meanings
using any dictionary. Answer the questions at the end of the article.

The Not-So-Sweet Truth About High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Dr. Mark Hyman

There are five reasons we should stay away from any product containing high fructose corn
syrup.

1. Sugar in any form causes obesity and disease when consumed in pharmacologic doses.
Cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup are indeed both harmful when consume
pharmacologic doses of 140 pounds per person per year. When one 20-oune sweetened
soda, sports drink, or tea has 17 teaspoon teenager (and the average consumes two drinks
a day), we are conducting a largely uncontrolled experiment on the human species. Our
hunter-gatherer ancestors the equivalent of 20 teaspoons per year, not per day. In this
sense, I would agree with the corn industry that sugar is sugar. Quantity matters. But
there are some important differences.

2. HFCS and cane sugar are NOT biochemically identical or processed the same way by
the
body. High fructose corn syrup is an industrial food product and far from "natural" or a naturally
occurring substance. It is extracted from corn stalks through a process so secret that Archer
Daniels Midland and Carghill would reportedly not allow the investigative journalist Michael
Pollan to observe it for his book, "The Omnivores Dilemma. "The sugars are extracted through a
chemical enzymatic process resulting in a chemically and biologically novel compound called
HFCS.
Now back to biochemistry. Since there is no chemical bond between them, no digestion is
required, so they are more rapidly absorbed into your blood stream. Fructose goes right to the
liver and triggers lipogenesis (the production of fats like triglycerides and cholesterol). This is
why it is the major cause of liver damage in this country and causes a condition called tatty liver,
which affects 70 million people. The rapidly absorbed glucose triggers big spikes in insulin-our
body’s major fat storage hormone. Both of these features of HFCS lead to increased metabolic
disturbances that drive increases in appetite, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer,
dementia, and more.
High doses of free fructose have been proven to literally punch holes in the intestinal lining,
allowing nasty by-products of toxic gut bacteria and partially digested food proteins to enter your
blood stream and trigger the inflammation that we know is at the root of obesity, diabetes,
Cancer, heart disease, dementia, and accelerated aging.
Naturally occurring fructose in fruit is part of a complex of nutrients and fiber that does not
exhibit the same biological effects as the free high fructose doses found in corn sugar.
The takeaway:Cane sugar and the industrially produced, euphemistically name “ corn sugar” are
not biochemically or physiologically the same.
3. HFCS contains contaminants including mercury that are not regulated or measured by the
FDA. An FDA researcher asked corn producers to ship a barrel of high fructose corn
syrup in order to test for contaminants. He repeated requests were refused until she
claimed she represented a newly created soft drink company. She was then promptly
shipped a big vat of HFCS that was used as part of the study that showed that HFCS often
contains toxic levels of mercury because of chlor-alkali products used in its
manufacturing. Poisoned sugar is certainly not “natural”

When HFCS is run through a chemical analyzer or a chromatograph, strange chemical

peaks show up that are not glucose or fructose. What are they? Who knows? This
certainly calls into question the purity of this processed form of super sugar. The exact
nature, effects, and toxicity of these funny compounds have not been fully explained, but
shouldn’t we be protected from the presence of untested chemical compounds in our food
supply, especially when the contaminated food product comprises up to 15 to 20 percent
of the average American daily calorie intake?

4. Many independent medical and nutrition experts DO NOT support the use of HFCS in
our diet, despite the assertions of the corn industry. The corn industry’s happy looking
websites www.cornsugar.com and www.sweetsurprise.com bolster their position that
cane sugar and corn sugar are the same by quoting experts, or should we say misquoting.

Let’s Anchor Your Learning

Exercise 1
Fill up the Circle of Trend:
1. On the upper right hand corner, write one emerging trend.
 2. On the lower right hand corner, write the things about that trend.
3. On the lower left hand corner, write the concrete thing that you can actually do for that
trend.

Exercise 2
Write a 100-word essay. You may choose from any of these two titles: “Which Fad or Trend
Shall Accept or Reject?” or “ How Do I Accept or Reject a Trend?”

Critical Thinking Corner

1. How can I intelligently spot, accept, or reject any emerging fad or trend?
2. How can I become a shrewd triage in understanding the deluge of challenges brought
about by the 21st century fads and trends?
Review and Synthesis
I. Outline your learning from this lesson.

A.

B.

C.

D.

II. Define the terms used in this lesson.

1. Trend

2. Fad

III. Formulate and raise questions regarding this lesson

1.

2.

IV. Get Organized

Use the five Ws chart to organize the information you have learned from this lesson.

What?
 Who?

Where?

When?

Why?

V. Synthesize
What have you learned from this lesson? Write your answer in the box in paragraph form.