{"id":7715,"date":"2017-06-27T16:43:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T14:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newinsights.oeb.global\/?p=7715"},"modified":"2017-07-28T11:48:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T09:48:03","slug":"civilisation-level-change-in-education-from-improving-individuals-to-bettering-their-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/oeb-insights\/civilisation-level-change-in-education-from-improving-individuals-to-bettering-their-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Civilisation-Level Change in Education from \u201cimproving individuals\u201d to \u201cbettering their world\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>by Marc Prensky<\/em><\/p>\n

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Most people who attend conferences such as OEB already realise that the education we give our young people no longer prepares them adequately for our rapidly evolving future. Even in today\u2019s exponentially changing environment, however, the approach of almost everyone currently struggling to \u201cfix\u201d education is to improve our current \u201cacademic\u201d paradigm incrementally \u2014 retaining its core of mathematics, language, science and social studies (and the various thinking skills around them)\u2014while adding in such things as 21st century skills, social-emotional skills, entrepreneurship, creativity, cross-disciplinary \u201ctopics,\u201d school choice, smaller classes, higher standards, more measurement, and, of course, technology\u2014each convinced that their own incremental approach will be enough for the future.<\/p>\n

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The World Has an Outdated Perspective About What \u201can Education\u201d Means<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It won\u2019t\u2014because our fundamental problem lies not in education\u2019s details but in our concept of what an \u201ceducation\u201d is. It is the way we currently think about what constitutes an \u201ceducation\u201d that truly requires re-imagining for the future.<\/strong> The academic concept of education that met the requirements of the 20th century\u2014and produced success for many of today\u2019s adults\u2014is NOT the concept that meets the needs of today\u2019s youth going forward.<\/p>\n

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Globally, our children are all quickly becoming \u201chumans with enhanced brains, all networked together\u201d\u2014 a development still invisible, and often incomprehensible, to most of those responsible for their education. It is difficult for our leaders, bound by their own past, fully to conceive the very different education that our young people now need. But if we continue to view future education as only incrementally augmenting our outdated academic approach, and if we do not offer our children the education they truly require, we will hold back their development tremendously, and seriously limit their future possibilities<\/strong>, compared to what we could be doing. (Not to mention wasting huge sums of our money on ill-conceived reforms.)<\/p>\n

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Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Are Not Nearly Enough<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Until recently, because our children couldn\u2019t accomplish much in the world before they were adults (except in exploitative ways), it made sense for them first to learn to \u201cthink\u201d in school and then, later, to \u201caccomplish\u201d at work. But now, in the world of empowered kids, this sequential approach no longer suffices. Critical thinking and problem solving are of limited value unless combined with effective action, effective relationships and effective accomplishment. We have been putting far too much weight in education on academic skills\u2014useful as they are for some\u2014to the detriment of the action, relationship and accomplishment skills everyone needs as well.<\/p>\n

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Now is the time for this balance to change. With the rapidly growing capabilities and connectivity of our children, it is urgent that we re-imagine the world\u2019s current academic, \u201cthinking-only,\u201d paradigm for education, and replace it with a more complete paradigm for the future. As a civilization, we educate our kids neither for their personal development nor so they can get jobs (although those are often useful by-products.) We educate our kids so they can better their, and our, world.<\/strong> Our children can be, and should be, improving their world\u2014and improving themselves in the process\u2014via a new approach that far better suits them and the needs of our future society. Today\u2019s newly empowered kids can now accomplish important tasks in the world at far younger ages. From the very start of their education, we should be fusing \u201cthinking skills\u201d and \u201caccomplishing skills\u201d into an education with a direct, hands-on connection to the world and its problems.<\/p>\n

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The Emerging Paradigm<\/strong><\/p>\n

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We are now seeing this new kind of education\u2014that our future children all need\u2014emerge and take hold in various corners of the world\u2014nowhere from the top, but everywhere from the bottom. It has a wide variety of names and forms, but there are two essential, defining common elements:<\/p>\n

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THE ENDS OF EDUCATION<\/strong> are changing<\/p>\n

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from:<\/p>\n