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Education evolves along with society
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EDUCATION is not static. If you walked into a school 150 years ago, you would see no science labs, physical discipline would be the norm, and students would be silent when not reciting something in unison.
Fundamental change has taken place in education, but it has often been on the time scale of generations. Currently, however, the ways in which we work, live, and relate to one another are undergoing rapid and fundamental change at a pace measured in months rather than generations. Thus, your task in making educational decisions for your children is much more difficult than that of your parents. You must select a school in an ephemeral present that will prepare your children for an unknowable future. Fundamentally, this is bound to be unsettling because the structures and methods used by the schools that stand a chance of doing this well will likely be unfamiliar and uncomfortably dissimilar to your own experience. In such a bewildering situation, how can we begin?
A number of years ago, as a physics professor, I occasionally taught students in other disciplines who took physics as a requirement and questioned the subject’s usefulness. When I researched their career paths, I discovered that the most honest answer to “What will I use physics for?” was “I have no idea, nor could I.”
Their fields were changing rapidly, and the specific problems on which they would work in the future were oftentimes as yet nonexistent. What I did find, however, was consistent with much recent thinking of educators. I saw my students using the concepts, deep understandings, skills, and habits of mind they learned in physics class. It is these types of learnings that transcend context and future-proof our students.
At Shanghai Singapore International School, for example, students learn a technique called Math Model Drawing. They practice creating diagrammatic representations that allow them to mathematically model real-life situations of increasing complexity as they progress through school. These powerful techniques apply to a myriad of contexts in business, social sciences, and beyond.
Dr Andrew Crouse is Shanghai Singapore International School Senior School principal.
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