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