How Schools Can Promote Connected, Confident Learners

When I was growing up reading, writing, mathematics and science were all that was required to get out and about in the world – but then again I grew up in a time where jobs lacked panache and creativity, and the most acceptable career choice was thought to be a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer or an accountant.

The world has changed from the times of my childhood and the job market even more so. Sadly the education system has yet to catch up. The purpose of a school as we know, is to develop and enhance the skills and capabilities of a child and encouraging them to think out of the box. Unfortunately, a majority of the education institutions are failing because the current day education system puts more emphasis on standardized testing and learning by heart or rote memorization.

I remember many years ago asking my maths teacher why I wasn’t allowed to use a calculator in class and I remember being told that no one would be carrying calculators in their pockets. Then came along IPads, Tablets and smartphones and now that explanation seems very redundant. The skill sets of yesterday are no longer the skill sets of today and as such the skills learned today are not what is required for tomorrow. Bill Gates put this more emphatically in an article published in 2014 in ​The Economist where he said that at least a dozen job types will be taken over by robots and automation in the next two decades, and these jobs cover both high-paying and low-skilled workers. Just think about it, 10 years ago did the role of a Social Media Manager even exist?

As Graham Brown-Martin explained in his book Learning {Re}imagined, the reason behind our school systems failing is that they were created to inculcate attributes required by 19th-century workforce – discipline, silence, punishment, standardized evaluation. Most of what is taught in schools are now redundant to a child’s development and needs to be replaced with curriculums that nourish creativity, critical thinking and collaboration i.e. 21st-century skill set.

There is no one system or methodology that guarantees the success of a school but fortunately, many schools have realized that fundamental changes need to be made. For example Many schools in the Middle East have adopted learning with 1:1 devices, promoting confident, connected, actively-involved learners in preparation to participate in society and the future workforce. Woodmead schools, South Africa, gone further and created an autonomous method of teaching where the student council oversee all matters of discipline. Finland’s education system, on the other hand, has moved far ahead scrapping conventional subjects and standardized assessments in preference to the students’ exploration and creativity. There is no ‘one size fits all’ and in the end, schools need to keep in tune with changing times and prepare students for jobs that are currently non-existent.