Education System Needs a Change

More Indians go to college than ever. Up to half are unemployed or underemployed a year after graduation. And two-thirds say they need further training and instruction to enter the workforce. As student debt balloons, it’s time for society to re-evaluate postsecondary education—and our entire system. We need to create new and innovative systems that help individuals achieve their potential. The nation needs an education system that excites and stimulates children, providing them with the learning they need - and deserve - to fulfill their potential. This means providing a curriculum of practical and vocational learning alongside theoretical study.

This need for change has never been more pressing. It is not due to the fault of any individual, any school or even any one political party but due to the simple fact the world has changed - and our education system has not changed fast enough. Indeed, it is largely based on a system developed over a century ago; a factory manufacturing model where children are placed on a learning conveyor belt, then sorted, packaged and labeled according to their so-called intelligence.

However, in this day and age there is no excuse for such a top-down, one-size-fits-all education system that does not enable all children to thrive in their own way. We must recognise that young people are individuals with different talents and dreams. As such, not all children learn in the same way. We need to move towards a system of mass customisation, based on a strong common core of essential skills and knowledge, which allows young people to develop their own particular talents and aspirations.
We must support young people in discovering what they enjoy and are good at - and who they want to be in life. And we must encourage and support teachers and schools in responding to these different needs. Young people will learn if they see learning as important, meaningful and worthwhile. Also, a broad curriculum up to age 14 with opportunities to develop life skills and experience a range of future options. Life skills such as team work, problem solving and enterprise should be explicitly taught and assessed through practical activities linked to academic subjects and vocational areas. There should be a new emphasis on direct experience of future options, including visits to workplaces, colleges and universities, and hearing at first hand from people, who have already made career and learning choices.

At 14 all students, in addition to continuing a broad curriculum, including English, maths and science, would be supported in choosing a pathway matched to their interest and abilities, each with a different balance of theoretical and practical learning. For some the pathway will be largely academic and theory-based; for many it will be a blend of theory and practice, connecting new knowledge and skills with the wider world; and for some it will be centred on practical learning. The emphasis will be on breadth and keeping options open for young people while allowing them to pursue their interest in depth.

The Web is changing many important functions of modern society—how we transfer money, communicate, purchase products, and more—but has been slow to transform the critical task of educating the next generation of citizens and leaders. Education remains basically modeled on an approach hundreds of years old. Students with varying levels of ability sit in classes organized by grade level before a “sage on the stage” who teaches reading, writing, arithmetic, and a bit of science. That system, doesn’t seem to work well enough.
It’s time for education to catch up with our technologically enhanced society. Students deserve a relevant, modern, customized education that helps them acquire 21st century skills. So does our society.Take computer science, for instance. Employers nationwide lament a massive skills gap, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says there will be a million more job openings than trained workers to fill them by 2020. Yet, according to Code.org, an organization that encourages more students to learn programming and coding skills, only a few high schools even offer a computer science class, let alone Advanced Placement in the subject. And fewer than 3 percent of college students earned a C.S. degree in 2012, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Curriculum is not the only part of the system ripe for change, of course. The delivery mechanism has also remained unchanged for generations. Teachers run classes as extended lectures and send students home to complete homework assignments, often alone and confused. It’s a practice that’s particularly disadvantageous for students who lack a conducive home environment.

We need pioneering innovations to make their way into more of our schools, like the “flipped classroom” model made possible by, for example, the extraordinary Khan Academy video lectures. In this model, educational material like lectures and other video is consumed by a student alone outside of the classroom, while “homework” and other practical learning-oriented exercises are done in school, where students have access to resources and assistance.

Though charter schools, teachers unions, school boards, local activists and others have worked to reform the system, it has often seemed impermeable. Technology may be the silver bullet to enhance the material and the way we teach. Our students already live in a tech-saturated culture, so they will certainly welcome such change. Technology can help students better prepare for the future, and keep preparing—since learning will increasingly need to be continuous as the stunning pace of technology change further accelerates.
The seeds of change are sprouting - but they won’t automatically grow. For them to flourish they need to be recognised and nurtured. They need the support of the nation; from parents, to young people, MPs and the business community.

Source: Teaching Times (Website)
Forbes (Website)

The author of this article is Asst. Professor Pioneer Institute of Professional studies Indore.