This archive report was first published on 15 December 2019.
Reforms that our education desperately needs to thrive ¶
Published on December 15, 2019, by SUNNY BINDRA
Our education system is in dire need of reform. It's an outdated system that prioritizes the privileged few over the masses. The current model is like an old-fashioned train service, where only a select few make it to the final station.
Many of us have asked the question: what's to be done? How can we fix this broken system? The answer lies in disrupting the entrenched interests that benefit from the current model. Those who have benefited from this primitive way of running education are the ones who take over its running, and they have every interest in keeping it the same.
It's time for disruptors to break the mold and introduce something better. With the advent of new technologies, we have the opportunity to democratize education. But disruption only happens when someone wants it badly enough.
It will take guts and determination from educators, parents, and children to try something different. Employers will also need to question what they really get when they ask for traditional certificates and grades.
Here are some principles that could guide the new education:
- Everyone should be entitled to a decent education, not an expensive or elite one.
- Give everyone the essential tools to make the most of their lives, and stop throwing people off the train because they can't afford to continue.
- Put enough trains on for everyone, and accept that this is an investment worth making as a collective.
The pedagogy of our education system is also in need of reform. We teach subjects as though everyone needs to master all its intricacies, but how much of what we're teaching is relevant to the many, not just the gifted few?
A more enlightened way of teaching would be to understand the diversity of the classroom and create tailored experiences for everyone. We would understand the innate wiring of each individual and create learning experiences accordingly.
Finally, we need to rethink our measurement and grading system. What do those numbers actually measure, and why do we allow them to mark out our lives? We need to stop the brutal categorization of humans into 'bright' and 'thick' based on antiquated thinking from a century ago.
Let's equip children for real life, and let real life be their test. Picture this: children not coming to school until later in life, no mandatory standardised testing, no Darwinian competition in the schoolroom, shorter school days, and very little homework. An emphasis on learning rather than passing.
Many professional paths and options, lifelong learning - it's not too utopian, right? It would fail, right? Think Finland, and you will see that much of this is already being done, with great success.
