A response to the “Most Likely to Succeed” documentary
There is no doubt that the traditional educational system in which we are accustom to has grown stale. The world is rapidly changing and our education system needs to catch up. “Most Likely to Succeed” outlines how the advancement in technology is fazing out many of the jobs that traditional education used to prepare students for. The new type of individual that school’s should be molding are those who are self-determined learners, with advanced interpersonal communication skills, and with an ability to think critically and creatively. The documentary focuses on High Tech High School, a new type of school that takes a “learner-centred” approach to education. Teacher instruction is limited and student driven inquiry projects function as the main learning method. Advocates of this type of schooling believe that inquiry-based learning is the appropriate educational route for children of the 21st century; it is said to provide them with the tools they need to navigate this increasingly complicated world.
While I whole-heartedly support learner-centred education and would be inclined to teach this way myself, I worry that higher education has not yet caught up. I fear that students who attend an inquiry based high school that lacks standardized testing and formal lectures might be ill-prepared for university. The unfortunate reality of the current university system is that there is little room for individual voice. Memorizing and regurgitating facts is the criteria for most classes. Students who have no experience with this type of education are likely to have a difficult time succeeding, not only because of their lack in familiarity with traditional education but because of the alarming juxtaposition this system has on a students freedom to think.
This is not to say that parents should not be sending their children to these types of schools, but rather that our university system needs to be majorly reformed if this new type of education is to stand a chance. This is a whole other battle; seeing the change in grade school is a step in the right direction.
Locally, there are a few inquiry-based high schools such as Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (http://learningstorm.org/) and Arc Academy of Inquiry (https://arcacademy.ca/), for those who are interested. The high tuition prices of these schools is a demonstration our societies lag in accepting the education reform that needs to take place. Once the higher education institutions, which guard the gates of employment in the 21st century at the average rate of $30 000 (using an outdated educational system no less), change the system entirely than the future of human success will stand a chance. Until then, we can only expect that technology continue to take jobs away from us, rendering individuals with university degrees no longer of value.