Is School Preparing Us for the Future

[Applause]

hands up

if you’ve ever lost sleep preparing for

an upcoming ib summative

or if you’re a parent witness your child

sacrificing his

or her weekend because there’s simply

there simply wasn’t enough time

to study research has demonstrated that

the average full ib student spends at

the very least

one thousand one hundred and seventy

hours studying up

to the final iv exam

and with all that time being spent to

perfect one score

it must be preparing us for something

better right

however research has simultaneously

shown

that academic achievement is no longer a

strong predictor

of professional success in fact

according to a report by world bank

there’s a disconnect between what

students are learning in schools

and the skills needed to succeed in the

dynamically changing

labor market of today and the future

the teach to the test method the primary

method used in education worldwide

is simply no longer preparing students

enough for the rapidly changing

job market

the teach to the test method is based on

the idea that students progress can best

be measured by a standardized or final

exam whether it’s for the sat ap ib a

levels

or other high school programs

but what these tests fail to do though

is measure how well students can

actually apply the knowledge they

acquire to real-life

situations on the most basic level

those seeking for a job need to know how

their knowledge directly applies to the

problems that they

encounter a student who understands

supply and demand

needs to know for example how to

actually construct a model to represent

increasing supply

and decreasing demand for an unfamiliar

country

and as some of us know from our jobs

internships

or even from creating a club at school

having the best proposal does not

necessarily lead

to a successful implementation

in fact without the soft skills few can

actually negotiate a solution

lead a team or implement their ideas

contrary to this conventional

educational method

project-based learning is based on the

idea that students acquire the necessary

soft skills

when they learn to apply information

lead

work collaboratively and innovate rather

than memorize

the thinking goals give a student a

problem

the tools to solve it and let them shine

for example at the shanghai american

schools innovative institute program

a challenge-based learning method is

utilized where students as young as 14

years old

learn about subjects through solving

real-world open-ended problems

one challenge being how do we thrive on

a planet

with limited resources in this process

students learn not only how to respond

to complex problems and issues

or effectively communicate their ideas

to industry industry leaders and experts

but also how to make connections between

their classes in the real

world similarly

in our very own isb community the

entrepreneurship class utilizes an

activity based learning method

to guide and assist students in creating

and running their own social ventures

which aim to address a social issue of

their choice

in addition this class provides

competition opportunities

for students to put their skills to the

test by presenting their companies and

products

to real-time investors this program has

helped students

develop and launch numerous companies

ranging from biodegradable soap orbs

to aromatherapeutic lotion and

throughout the course

students evidently develop a myriad of

soft skills ranging from collaboration

to communication to leadership to

creativity

and furthermore these students move to

see the world in terms of possibilities

and solutions instead of facts and

formulas

now as most of us are aware the world is

rapidly

digitizing and as we enter the fourth

industrial revolution where ai becomes

increasingly important the job market is

set to experience

a dramatic shift in fact

according to a report by linkedin by

2022

technology is expected to have displaced

75 million jobs

globally however although ai

technology and robots may automate some

tasks in the future

it can’t replace the human capabilities

needed for certain jobs that require the

soft skills of humans

according to predictions by forbes

leadership

communication problem solving and

creativity will be the most sought after

soft skills in future labor markets

these are the skills that project-based

learning develops and enhances

while the teach to the test method

hinders and obstructs

in fact while ib students worldwide

including myself

were busy studying for that next

summative or the final ib exam

and matt kaczynski when she was just a

high schooler

created a flashlight powered solely by

the heat of the human hand

to address the issues of lack of

electricity in rural communities in the

philippines

and while high school students worldwide

were also busy studying

for the sat exam benjamin stern when he

was just a high schooler as well

successfully created a social venture

aimed at addressing the issues of

plastic waste

and successfully landed a partnership

with mark cuban on shark tank usa

furthermore while some students are also

busy studying for the ap

exam greta thundberg a swedish high

schooler became the leading voice

of climate change activism

now what these teenagers demonstrate is

that schools cannot prepare students

for the real world from behind a desk or

buried beneath piles

and piles of tests instead

students should be given free schedules

to explore their passions and taught to

apply

the knowledge they acquire to real life

situations and problems

to all the students out there this is

our time and moment to grow and develop

into the people that we want to become

should we really have to spend our

precious time seated behind a desk

studying and taking a test or should we

instead

be encouraged and offered the enriching

opportunities to instead invest

our time in project-based learning which

actually develops the skills that we

need

in order to succeed in the future

as robert frost said two roads diverged

in a wood and i i took the one less

traveled by

and that has made all the difference

it is time that education travels on a

new road so students

like you and me can build the skills

that we need

to make all the difference thank you