Blog#5

Time magazine had an article last month about how to modernize schools in the U.S. Fortunately I’ve only attended schools that are fairly modern but there are still many which are under funded and lacking in technology. A very interesting section of the article was the comparison between the 20th century and teaching today and how the format is very similar. Students sit down, take notes, listen to lectures, and the teacher writes on the chalkboard. Perhaps this is a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ but if private industry is modernizing for greater efficiency and production, then schools ought to do the same. The new globalized world isn’t about lectures and notes, it is about abstract ideas, critical thinking, working as a team, being multilingual.
Relating to my last blog, the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce recently released a blueprint for pre-K-12 schools to better prepare students to survive in the global economy. Fortunately it seems, at least some are preparing—albeit rather late—for the new phenomenal competition that is emerging overseas. Education must change to not just focus on traditional academic skills, but instead on the skills of the 21st century. The first way to do this is to teach children more about the world; they must be culturally sensitive and view themselves as global citizens. There should also be an emphasis on creative thinking and pattern recognition. Subjects must be combined, be it art and technology or design and mathematics. Originally, public schools were designed to educated agrarian workers and make them more well-rounded, so this will be a dramatic shift from what has come before. Up until now, schools that wished to modernize had to do so on their own with the help of local business and donations, so there must be a greater federal emphasis on bringing schools into the 21st century for schools that do not have access to a wealth community.
The best solution is to indoctrinate children to these new ideas as young as possible so by the time they are adults they will be comfortable and capable enough to succeed in the world. Educators should also always be looking to modernize or be cutting-edge in order to prepare their students as best as possible for new challenges that await. Between reform and investment I believe that schools could be radically changed quite quickly, perhaps in time enough to deal with the droves of graduates coming from East Asia and elsewhere around the globe.