Changing Education Paradigms

It is an incontrovertible fact that education is a fundamental part of life. Education gives developing minds the tools necessary to push society forward. It is a tradition that transcends recorded history and can be found, in one form or another, within every culture on Earth today. Ancient Egyptians often established schools for princes and scribes that included lessons in history, math, writing, reading, astronomy, music, science, and medicine. So, why is it that several thousands of years later, arguably the most advanced country on Earth has a laughable education system at best?

When one mentions the American school system today, the subject is usually accompanied by scoffs and palms to the face. The education system has not kept up with the rapidly changing world we live in. Advancement in computer technology coupled with increased globalization has resulted in a system of education that is outdated and unable to provide students with the tools necessary to solve issues that threaten humanity. This system has branded within the minds of millions of students the notion that there is only one answer to every problem, it has shunned collaboration and rebranded it as “cheating”, and above all, it has marginalized many of the skills that are essential to solving the world’s problems. So, what needs to be done?

In his 2008 lecture, entitled “Changing Education Paradigms”, Sir Ken Robinson explains that almost every country on Earth is in the process of reforming education and that those countries are attempting to “meet the future by doing what they did in the past.” We have to change the entire concept of what an education system is and more importantly, what it does. It is imperative that we “shift the paradigm” as Robinson says. The children of tomorrow must not be taught what to think but rather how to think for themselves. The ability to think for oneself and to think outside the parameters of a given situation is referred to divergent thinking.

Politically, the reformation of an entire way of thinking is easier said than done. Nevertheless, as someone who has experienced the system in question more recently than the majority of United States politicians, I believe that my opinion is most certainly valid. What is politically difficult is usually economically difficult by nature, but when the future of our world hangs in the balance and quality of education is the deciding factor, what can hold economic priority over education?


My experience with the K-12 system has opened my eyes to what needs to change. To safeguard our future and usher in a new age of global harmony we must begin to think for ourselves while also training ourselves to work with others if we hope to solve the problems of tomorrow.