Three Things Students Should Be Taught in School
School curricula over the decades has been notoriously slow to adapt to changes in the world, especially the rapid transformations of society which have been occurring since internet reached the mainstream.
To properly prepare today’s children for their brightest possible future, we need to teach them modern skills. Here are thing things we believe every school should start teaching kids at a young age.
A new understanding of mathematics
More than ever, the world relies on algorithms. It’s a way of processing data that is not currently taught in most math classes. There’s also a new emphasis on analytics, another aspect of math that must not be overlooked.
Practical mathematics is more important to learn than ever, so let’s swap abstract problem-solving with real-world applications.
Coding and programming
This is the one everyone is talking about. Across North America there are “coding academies” like BrainStation and Lighthouse Labs, which teach adults how to code, and organizations like Ladies Learning Code which offer opportunities for kids to learn those skills as well. But what we need is for these skills to be taught in schools at a young age—conquering code shouldn’t require extracurricular learning.
It will also balance the supply and demand of talent, rendering students more employable for a wider variety of roles, even outside of software engineering.
Entrepreneurship and creativity
Some argue that entrepreneurship cannot be taught. Perhaps they are correct; perhaps they are not. But it’s certainly worth trying. At the very least, we need to encourage creativity as much as possible. Teaching kids to take creative approaches to solving problems is a foundation for successful entrepreneurship. And even those who don’t choose to launch their own startup will benefit from boosted creativity in other roles.
The world continues to change, and the skills we must adopt to thrive in it are changing too. These new fundamentals will keep students competitive in a global environment, regardless of the career path they choose.
