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WHATEVER
HAPPENED
TO
LEIS
EDUCATION?
by
Edward
R.
Walsh
W
hat kind of world will our chi ldren inherit? What new challenges
will they face? Abundant leisure time is sure to be one. Sorne
ociologists are forecasting a workweek of between 20 and 24 hours
by the tum of the century, and the IBM Corporation has identified leisure
developments as a major clue to future life-styles.
If we could peek into the future, what might we find? The Jnstitute for the
Future, a think-tank opera tion based in Mento Park, California, has pro–
jected a scenario ofAmerican society for the year 2000. Here's what you have
to look forward to. Most bornes will be equipped with tridimensional color
TV sets mounted on waU screens, with a third of them wired for pay TV.
Nearby holiday travel centers will provide you with instantaneous fare
information and ticket reservations on a global basis. Pusb a button and
you'll learn in an instant about forthcoming leisure events throughout the
world. TV sets will be toted about much like transistor radios are today. The
Picturephone will be commonplace. Units will record messages automati–
ca!ly, even provide you with photographic reproductions if you need them.
We have failed to dislodge a deep-rooted
distrust ofunoccupied time. Thus, Hthe great
emptiness" threatens to deplete our energies and
jeopardize our enjoyment of leisure.
Remember those old movies you never could get enough of? Well, your local
library will lend them to you for home viewing on video cassettes. Even
current films and plays can be yours for a fee. You ' ll have more free time to
enjoy these technological marvels because of more flexible work schedules,
longer vacations, additional holidays, optional retirement , and a life ex–
pectancy of 75 years. " Leisure time pursuits wiU become an increasingly
importan! basis for differences between people, as society itself shifts from a
work orienta tion toward greater involvement in leisure," predicts Alvin
Toffier in his book
Future Shock.
But will Americans have developed the
ability to handle the new leisure life-style thrust upon them by changing
times?
There's reason to believe they won't, since we seem to be having difficulty
dealing with even currently available leisure. Many of us go to pieces when
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