The Future of Education

Here's a great article about the future of education in the 21st century that mentions two of my favorite authors: Ken Robinson and Malcolm Gladwell.

The article begins with one simple premise...

Schools are built for, and in the image of, the industrial revolution
Schools are not only built for an industrial revolution past but also in its image - my first ever teaching placement in the most deprived area of Scotland was marked by every period of learning being 53 minutes long, something more like a chicken processing plant's shifts than a stimulating learning environment, with students batched by age and subject to standardised tests for quality before shipping to the real world. Conformity has thus always had a higher value than diversity. Disciplines on offer are subject to a hierarchy (maths and native language, followed by the sciences with music and the arts chasing the coattails).

The article goes to say that schools need to foster creativity and develop entrepreneurial skills in students for them to succeed in the future.