Most of the United States feels like our current education system is still working. Maybe it’s not as good when they were in school, or maybe it’s better, but it’s still good. Kids in their neighborhood are still graduating from high school and getting into college.
“Good” colleges, in fact. (Whatever a “good” college means.)
But if you’re familiar with research, such as that presented in Most Likely to Succeed, you are aware that the world of work is changing, and changing at a rapid pace. The schools of today are not training students for the jobs that will be available in the future.
And if you have a top student who’s being crushed under a load of homework, you might be ready for it to change.
And change faster already before your kid graduates!
But even if your school administration is willing to change, you might be finding that change is slow. That parents resist.
Why?
Is the way we’ve always educated students really working?
Well they probably tell you some version of, “It’s the way we’ve always done it. The way we do it works.”
Witness the kids graduating and getting into college.
But is students getting into college really evidence of the education system working?
Isn’t the ultimate goal of education to produce an adult who can contribute to society? Who can get a job?
Why can’t young adults find jobs?
Well, millenials – today’s gradates – are having a hard time finding jobs! And it’s not that jobs are unavailable. They aren’t trained for them.
Most Millennials Are Finding It Hard to Transition Into Adulthood: Report, NBCnews.com
In the article, the fact that education is not preparing young people for jobs is called out. This is the first time I have seen this in an article that is not related to education. This signals that the situation is becoming more urgent.
“[Mellinials] want to work but are trying to figure out how to go about it in a job market with much different demands and expectations… [O]ne thing that can be done… is to change the education structure…’Schools should do more, by not just teaching principles and concepts but the application of these principles and concepts,’ [said Jessica McManus Warnell, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.]”
Forget about students not being trained for the jobs of tomorrow. Students aren’t being trained for the jobs of today! It’s past time for our education system to change.