In 1979, the United Kingdom's Conservative party famously put out this poster:
It is more true than ever.
The modern world has a big problem. More and more standardised testing is not working. People are being tested based on their ability to remember things and regurgitate them on demand unquestioningly. Is that what we need from people in a modern age to solve problems such as climate change, poverty and the oil running out?
What is needed more than ever is a world of independent thinkers. We need the next generation to solve problems, have skills and have the sky as the limit.
As once was said
We are constantly nowadays testing people through tests and pop quizzes, we should be playing on the strengths of young people. Technical skills are undervalued and children who excel in technical skills such as engineering, woodworking, plumbing and so on, but are less skilled in academia are more often cast aside. This should end.
I imagine a future where children are assessed based on their abilities in different areas and are placed in environments with like-minded classmates where they can excel. Students who love and excel at science and academia are taught in an environment where they are driven in that environment. Students who love technical skills are taught and inspired to seek learning more about subjects that they enjoy such as engineering and architecture. Those who love the arts can learn about poets and artists and be inspired by such free-thinkers as H.G Wells or Picasso.
Schools where these students are taught core subjects such as English/Languages, Mathematics, Science and PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education) are important. But students should be taught in a way where it is relevant to them.
Academics will see the value in learning mathematics to solve scientific problems and create models.
Technical students will understand that in engineering, mathematics is important to calculate requirements in mechanical and electrical systems.
Artists will learn mathematics is relevant to them in a variety of ways such as learning about geometry.
Languages are important to academics' essays, technicians reports and artists poetry.
Students do not see this and we try to teach people skills they feel are irrelevant and this creates struggle. We assess people who are not writers through their writing. We assess people who are not practical in laboratory experiments. We assess those who work better under pressure by giving them work to go away and do when they feel like it. This is not the way.
We need to make school relevant to the next generation. We need young people to be inspired to learn to achieve their dreams and solve their problems. Not everyone is destined to achieve their life goals, some people find their lives are fulfilled through family or other means. Some are fulfilled by impacting in different ways.
To give everyone the best chance, we need to stop making fish climb trees.
