Our education system is about teaching and less of learning

By Kap Kirwok

Here is a truism that we all take for granted: The most important learning in life happens outside the classroom. Most of what we know as adults we learned it informally. The practical consequence of this — the corollary — is that, in the world outside the classroom, most of what we learned through the formal education system is not useful.

Do not get me wrong: formal education is important. There is a strong correlation between education and economic development. What the UN calls the Education Index (the rate of adult literacy and gross enrolment ratios) is a good predictor of the level of a country’s development. In any case, education is a basic human right — according to Article 13 of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. And, it can be argued convincingly the entire history of human civilisation is a story of the triumph of formal education.

The point is this: formal education needs to be about much more than instruction in a set of limited academic subjects.

Here are my top five subjects that should be offered in our institutions of learning.

Self-awareness would be my first choice. The ability to be aware of ourselves, to consciously think about our thoughts and actions, is supposed to be unique to our species — Homo sapiens.

Perhaps with a deeper self-awareness, our judgements would be more realistic and infused with a sense of humility. Perhaps we would be better at achieving balance in our lives through moderation and self-restraint.

Greater self-awareness provides a foundation upon which to build the important skill of goal-setting and time management. This would be my second choice. Much as we would like to believe we are thinkers and doers, the truth is that our thoughts and deeds are often neither disciplined nor well directed. Learning to think deeply and critically, and to act with directed discipline is an invaluable lifelong skill, which ought to be taught early in life.

Persuasion and negotiation

My third choice is healthy curiosity. Lifelong curiosity and ability to know how and where to search for knowledge is a trait that should be cultivated in our schools.

Communication is my fourth choice. It is a naturally learned trait that we spend a lifetime using and yet we remain very poor at it. Because of its critical importance, it ought to be taught at every stage of the education system. The value of listening and the power of silence should be a basic school catechism. Likewise, the skill of persuasion and negotiation should be cultivated right from nursery school to institutions of higher learning.

My fifth and final choice is proficiency in the art and science of honest wealth creation. How to save and invest wisely is a rare quality that should be part of any school curriculum. Related to this is the ability to tame desires and postpone gratification.

In rethinking subjects taught in our education system, we should try to make it less about teaching and more about learning.

Finally, the teacher-student concept needs to be deconstructed. Teachers should not teach, they should facilitate. It is time to rethink what and how we learn.

—The writer (Strategybeyondprofit@gmail.com) is based in the USA