Educator’s Word: Need to prepare kids for global opportunities
Today’s kindergarteners will be retiring in the year 2084. We do not know what the world will look like in five years, much less in 60 years, yet we are busy preparing our students for life in that world. Thus, learning experience and methodology will require new thinking and collective action.
How do we meet each student’s individual needs or address different learning styles? How do we prepare them for Industry 4.0?
In light of the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI), the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report 2023 predicts that while many jobs would be replaced by AI automation, many newer jobs would be generated as well. The demands of the future workforce are such that it is crucial for students to be equipped with the 21st century skills.
Most schools in India have based their curriculum around the conviction that students need to be prepared to take on the tasks of a particular academic discipline and do “something”. But the need is to develop their skill set in a way that they can do “anything”.
American philosopher John Dewey once said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”
When the course material is changing, then why is the way it is being taught not changing? There are different curricula like Cambridge, that can fulfil the need to prepare students in a better way. In this system educators do not just disperse information, but act as guides for the students to facilitate their learning. By providing a learning environment that allows the students to be creators using physical and digital tools, schools delivering Cambridge curriculum can equip students with a love for learning. Schools that are adopting an international curriculum also provide a makerspace, where students can work on a project and make sense of their world through hands-on experience.
With technology bringing our world closer, future employees will need a global mind-set to excel in their careers. With an international curriculum, students are being taught subjects from an international perspective and are being introduced to many different languages, making them internationally mindful.
