21st Century Classroom - Preamble

In the wake of the new millennium, many educationists and better informed parents started hinting at reforming 21st century classrooms. It is, indeed, a justified suggestion based on years of research in the field of education. In this article, rationale behind the requirement for a whole new system of education will be discussed in detail.

Advocates of a new public school system base their demand on two factors. Firstly, today’s dynamic economy leaves many parents unable to think clearly as to how they can prepare their child for the challenges of the 21st century. Many students are seen panicking towards the end of their degrees, because when they were freshmen four years ago, their degree looked promising. However, by the time they reach the final semester, everything seems to have changed in the job market.

Secondly, some parents aim at educating their children to make them aware of their cultural identity while making them at home in the globalized world. They are, in a way, trying to meet the future by doing what they used to do in the past. Further, there are children who never get to see school, or never go past the primary school. Today’s educationists have been seeking to find ways for making such children a part of the global economy.

21st century public school system is a new idea. I myself wasn’t aware of the term “21st century classrooms” until I read a tweet about it at @Singhpeter. Before we talk further about the 21st century School, it is important for us to learn that why the old public school system is considered obsolete by many teachers. Every institution in this wold is crafted to help cater to specific needs of a particular setting. Education is none different than any other institution. It has evolved through various stages over many centuries.

Education was not a requirement in an agrarian society of Europe. Therefore, only few people were privileged to go to school. However, with the Industrial Revolution changed the requirements of the economic system. Previously, the workforce required was peasantry. Now the industries needed managers and clerks in addition to the factory workers.

Considering this, intellectuals of the Enlightenment Period suggested creating a Public School System where every child will have the opportunity to study. In this system intelligence was measured on the basis of deductive reasoning. If a creature has wings and two legs, it is a bird, therefore penguin is a bird. Further, there was always only one correct answer to everything. You could be either right or wrong. Based on these parameters, students who scored well in exam were academic people, and those who did not were labelled as non-academic people. Thus, in addition to the social divide, an intellectual divide was created.

Academic people earned the best jobs, a lot of respect, and money. The non-academic people were fit only for the jobs that the academic people won’t do; the non-executive, clerical or blue collar jobs. Thus, Public School provided a way for the industrial economy to classify their workers.

However, the most interesting idea behind the new education system was the gene theory. Intellect and brilliance were in the genes. Therefore, if father excelled in college, the son would too. And to make sure that this theory held true, they judged their students through their proficiency in deductive reasoning, and knowledge of Latin and Classics; subjects that were the hallmark of bourgeoisie families, and unheard of for farmhands. In short, this school system was essentially biased, and made to favour the bourgeoisie. Most of the schools all over the world are still using this prejudiced system today, and this is one reason why we need to change it.

The second reason for the need to change our education system is social. During the nineteenth century, the educated families used to spend their time in libraries, in learning art and music, in discussing the latest scientific discoveries or explorations. The uneducated families spent their entire lifetime worrying about their next meals, or singing their worries away. This was all that their children could be exposed to.

Things changed drastically in the 20th century after the internet revolution, and the 21st century child has a wider horizon than us. His world is vast; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, and all sorts of websites. With access to the exciting world of internet, it is no wonder that he finds his algebra lessons, delivered in a 200 year old school system, least interesting. He gets poor grades in exams. His parents get worried. They take him to a doctor, who diagnoses him with Attention Deficit Disorder or ADFD. He is given medication to treat this disorder. The kid starts performing better at school, and parents are happy again.

What the parents don’t know is that their kid’s doctor is giving their child a mild anesthesia that numbs his senses. And here lies the irony. A sharp and agile mind does not fit into the present school system. This system requires the mind to be dull so that it can be filled with ‘Facts’.

When I write Fact with a capital ‘F’, there is a reason to it. During the Enlightenment Period in the wake of so many scientific discoveries, everything seemed to be in perspective and in perfect order. As a consequence some “Universal Facts” were established which could not be challenged. There was only one correct answer to every question. Students could not challenge the text book, or they would fail.

A perfect example to prove that the present education system is created to make the mind dull is a longitudinal survey quoted in a book Breakpoint and beyond. In this survey, 1600 students were tested for their divergent thinking. Their average score was 98% when they were in kindergarten, 32% when they were 8-10 year old, and barely 10% when they were 13-15. The results speak for themselves.

The present world is not a world of facts with a capital F. Instead, it is an age when facts keep changing overnight. Yesterday they discovered Quark; today they have proven the presence of God’s Particle. No one knows what we will hear tomorrow. A child cannot keep up with the ever changing world if we confine him to the traditional classroom. His teacher cannot be his only mentor. There needs to be a revolution to pull the classroom up to the pace of the 21st century. It would be unwise of us if we know that most of our child’s time is spent on social media forums, and we do not revolutionize our education system to integrate these forums in our teaching strategies.

Our ancestors had a one size fit all paradigm of success; work hard, get good grades, receive a good college degree, and bag a good job. Our new generation don’t seem to agree. In today’s world, graduation might be good, but is no longer a guarantee of successful career. What guarantees success is sharper mind and skill.

The need for reforming 21st century classrooms calls for action. Luckily, educators here in Canada are taking this challenge seriously and trying their best to bring our classrooms in harmony with the dynamic world surrounding our new generation.

In my next article, I will be discussing and implementing the technologies which are playing or can play a vital role in changing the course of classroom environments world-wide. So, stay tuned!

>> 21st Century Classroom - Youtube EDU for learners

In my future posts I shall further explore the scope of technology in the field of education. Subscribe to my blog, or follow me on twitter, to keep track of these posts.