Raise your hand if you find that the current education system is outdated, boring and inefficient!
I have been working in and around it for the past 20 years and I can tell you that is far scarier than what you think… I got literally sick of its rigidity, laughed at its nonsense, cried at the injustice and got into huge tantrums when my ideas were refused out of ignorance and fear!
In this article I will share my experience as an educator and how I tackle the problems within a rigid system. I have identified some remedies and innovative approaches which have been tested and given stunning results. Let’s get into some mixed teaching arts!
The Problem
If you are reading till now, the odds are that you have a child or children, nephew or niece, someone you love somewhere engaged in the farcical organization that we call school right now. If your loved ones were enjoying world class education, a rare occurrence nowadays, you would not even be on this page.
Most of educational institutions are obsessed with exams which have become the ultimate goal of education. These exams widely focus on regurgitating knowledge on a piece of paper and not really concerned with developing soft skills, creativity and critical thinking. If we consider that the role of schools at their inception was to provide qualified labour, we can say that the system has gone backwards as employers around the world are lamenting the level of recruits and it is getting worse year by year.
Schools are caring for less than a quarter of 21st century skills demanded by top companies around the world and still teaching these with pre-war methods. I used to say that only the colour of the board has changed… do you wonder why our youth is not motivated? Are you doing all you can to encourage your child? In vain? Are you short of ideas to solve that?
Looking deeper in the education system, it is obvious that we are lacking personality development, we are neglecting arts, health and sports, killing creativity, breeding little robots into uniformity and making a world of servile, non-critical, non-creative, ‘efficient’ bureaucrats just smart enough to execute repetitive non-sensical tasks. The education system has lost meaning and our youth is lost looking for it!
We are teaching the wrong things, definitely, in the wrong way.
So to solve this, you've probably tried confiscating your child's mobile phone, delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Maybe you've tried private tuitions and hired the best teachers or just changed school. But, it is still the same: no motivation and bad results are still coming! Nothing seems to be working.
Know that it is not your fault. You are just following the trend, using old solutions to solve a contemporary problem. What if the whole approach to education is flawed? It may have worked in the past but it is not working anymore. Simply open your eyes and face today's bare truth!
The world is a global village, and in some parts of this village the 21st century schools are using cutting edge pedagogy and psychology to raise happy, brilliant and free kids. Some ministries of education are taking bold steps in new educational avenues. There are revolutionary schools setting up in some places.
It is true that indoctrination and inequality are also flourishing in other areas but in some parts they are teaching robots to learn. Why the hell are they not teaching that to your kid?
And in all this confusion, all sorts of tech infused educational websites are proposing you all types of stuff to make your kid pass their exams, which one works? Which one is a scam?
The Solution
After experimenting the system and all its problems, I have identified three main areas of intervention and developed adapted techniques to cater for the missing links and give students a balanced approach to learning.
1. Learning how to learn – Neuroscience insights at the service of learning
We spend on average 15 years at school and the one thing that we are not taught is how to learn! This is completely ridiculous even more in a time when information about the brain functions is available. Cognitive psychology has made huge strides and we can clearly map the pathway of information from the first time we encounter it to the moment it becomes a long term memory or we master its applications.
I have designed an adapted combination of techniques to optimize the student's use of the brain, a cutting-edge training method for an Olympic brain, which is a major pillar of our course.
2. Coaching – personal coaching techniques to give you the correct frame of mind
Learning is not an isolated process which can be dissociated from the learner’s overall wellbeing and state of mind. One of the key insights from neuroscience is that the learner is more efficient when he/she is enjoying the process. In all these years I have seen emotional and personal issues disrupt the studies of so many brilliant students.
The present system suggests that it is not the job of the school to ensure a healthy mindset towards ourselves and others. Management of emotions is clearly not a priority and it is only a normal outcome to see a lack of motivation and general unhappiness at school and later in society.
We know that success and happiness are built on effective habits and empowering mindsets. We use coaching techniques such as NLP to get a greater control of the brain and instil the habits and mindsets that are required to experience a balanced and enjoyable learning process and life in general.
3. Adapted pedagogies – how it is taught is key to learning
Many historians have said that one thing that has not changed from the middle-ages is the way we teach. And I often say that the only thing that has changed in education is the colour of the board.
Teaching subjects as distinct areas dissociating them from other related subjects and their real life occurring is one of the biggest errors of the education system. It is not only meaningless, boring and limiting, but in addition it is dissociating learning from the real-life situation that is inherent to it.
There seems to be a mission to make learning as dull as possible and make the assimilation of knowledge and its restitution become a paperwork affair more than anything else.
I believe that learning should be as lively and tangible as possible and that there should be meaning in every step. Pedagogies like project-based learning, multi-disciplinary thematic curricula or gamified inquiry approach for younger students develop an overall curiosity and open-mindedness about contemporary issues which involve a number of subjects. At the same time this breeds vital skills - not even mentioned in traditional schools - a must for employability and adaptability in this dynamic work market.
Conclusion
I really believe that this combination will put any student in the best possible conditions to learn efficiently with a smile. Applying neuroscience to know how to learn, coaching to develop a healthy, balanced mindset and adapted pedagogies to approach knowledge from an exciting and relatable angle.
Does all this seem a little complicated and complex to you? We know exactly how you feel, this is how most of our students felt at first but they eventually found that our down to earth adaptations of lab discoveries are so digestible that it does not even feel like learning. Results are noticeable as from the first weeks. Your child will just love it and will be amazed at all the possibilities that open up!
Join us on this freedom adventure that’s sure to change your child's life. We are presenting the tried and tested solution to your educational worries. It demands a certain degree of open-mindedness and courage to change the outdated educational paradigm but now is the time to do it. Join us in the re-evolution of learning, now!