What If Learning Communities Actually Prepared Us for Collapse?
We’ve all heard the buzzwords: future-proofing, 21st-century skills, global citizenship. Schools love to promise that they’re preparing learners for the world ahead. But which future are they preparing us for?
The one where AI streamlines the workplace and we all work remotely in creative, fulfilling jobs? Or the one where a cyberattack takes down the power grid and we’re bartering canned beans for antibiotics?
Because if The Day After Tomorrow, Leave the World Behind, The Road, and Terminator have taught us anything, it’s that the future doesn’t always follow the syllabus. And while digital literacy is great, it’s slightly less useful when the internet is down and all the bees are dead.
Enter Deep Adaptation: Preparing for Multiple Futures
Most education assumes continuity—that the world will keep turning, economies will keep growing, and learners just need the right skills to succeed in an evolving landscape. But what if that landscape is eroding beneath our feet?
This is where Deep Adaptation, a framework developed by Professor Jem Bendell, shifts the conversation. Rather than assuming stability, Deep Adaptation asks us to prepare for disruptions to the very systems we rely on—climate, economy, healthcare, food security, and governance.
It offers four guiding principles:
Resilience – Strengthening what we most value to withstand crises.
Relinquishment – Letting go of what no longer serves us (e.g., fossil fuel dependence, unsustainable lifestyles).
Restoration – Reviving lost practices that help communities thrive (permaculture, mutual aid, local economies).
Reconciliation – Making peace with the emotional and social impacts of collapse so we can act wisely, not react out of fear.
Instead of just training learners for jobs, Deep Adaptation helps them develop skills for life in a radically uncertain world—whether that means navigating food shortages, mental health crises, or supply chain breakdowns.
Hope vs. Hopium: The Need for Plan A, B & C
It seems like there’s a hopium epidemic, the belief that things will magically work out because, well, they always have before. True resilience means balancing optimism with practical worst-case scenario planning—not in a fear-driven way, but in a way that empowers us to adapt, rebuild, and thrive no matter what comes next.
So maybe we need a new approach—one that embraces multiple possible futures:
Plan A: The world leans into sustainability, tech works in our favor, and we solve big crises.
Plan B: Things get shaky—climate disruptions, economic uncertainty, but we adapt.
Plan C: Let’s just say… you’ll want to know how to filter water and grow your own food.
Education That Actually Prepares Us
What if learning communities didn’t just “future-proof” learners for jobs—but also for life? What if the curriculum included resilience skills, systems thinking, the ability to navigate deep uncertainty, and a spate of practical skills like how to grow food, filter water, and treat wounds?
Because let’s be real—a liberal arts degree might help you write a compelling essay about societal collapse, but wouldn’t it be nice if it also helped you survive one?