How should the education system change to meet the needs of the 21st century?

10/6/2022

Zoe Grace Fuller

10/7/2022 03:53:36 pm

The education system should be altered so students can truly prosper. Ideally, it would begin with making school enjoyable, for many children dread coming to school whether it's learning, lack or intrusted or because they have no friends. Schools should encourage teamwork and strive to get kids to be curious and involved in their learning. Early experiences in school affect a child's performance for the rest of their life, so new structures that encourage better social and scholastic behavior are imperative.
Zoe Fuller

Elliot O Engquist link

10/11/2022 04:44:29 pm

Education is a very vital part of life and it's supposed to prepare kids for the world of adulthood but there's a problem nowadays. School needs to change to meet the needs of the 21st century. According to Cross River Therapy, the average attention span of a 13-15 year old is 30 to 40 minutes which doesn't even last an average class period. It is also known that different students are more interested in different subjects and may struggle in those they find boring. Attempting to fit the needs of every student may be nearly impossible but there can definitely be attempts to improve out schools.
Elliot Engquist

Srivatsav Koduri

10/18/2022 08:40:43 pm

The education system should change to meet the needs of the 21st century by only teaching relevant information. According to H&R Block, the average American uses just 37 percent of the information they learn in school (https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/americans-use-just-37-percent-of-information-learned-in-school-survey-finds/#:~:text=A%20new%20survey%20says%20the,information%20they%20learn%20in%20school). This shows us that much of the information we learn is irrelevant in the real world and, seeing how our lifespans are caped around 100 years, it might be better spending it obtaining information we actually need. Furthermore, it is better to learn information used in students' careers rather than general information as it is what affects students' lives in the long term. A final consideration is that there isn't enough money invested in good, free resources for students to use. This could help students learn independently outside of the school year. Schools are also based on grades which might be too one dimensional and unfair seeing how there is great variations between different schools.

Srivatsav Koduri

Mia Reynoso link

11/3/2022 07:00:20 pm

The education system of the 21st-century should change by teaching the students more relevant and useful information that could benefit them in the future. Nowadays schools rely on different types of maths and sciences, when in reality, most of these courses will never be used (depending on the career). The education system should rely on what the student would need in the future. For example learning how to write a check, learning how to manage money or even learning more languages that could be used for traveling purposes whether it has to do with a job or not. With these advancements to the education system of the 21st-century, kids would have more knowledge over the real life world after high school and college. These new things would prepare the students better than what schools think they’re doing now. Another necessity the education system should meet would be making school a lively place that encourages students to want to learn. Many students believe school is the most important thing in the world although it’s not and because of this students are not allowed to have fun and don’t live in the moment. Preparing students for the future would allow them to be able to have fun and learn at the same time.

Diya Gaur

11/7/2022 12:32:27 pm

The current U.S. education system is designed as a "one size fits all" type of system, rather than approaching education as needs-based. The education system fails to realize that all students are different, and that all students have different learning styles/capabilities. The capabilities of students are solely determined and measured on the basis of numbers, which is taken as a measure of intelligence (which is not accurate).

Furthermore, the education system places too much of stress on its students, and does not provide resources to make up for that mental/physical stress. Not only do children have to worry about workload from school, but also problems that may be occurring at home. One in five students experience mental health problems during their school years (1). Mental health problems also affect academic performance later on in life, thus leading to debilitating effects as an adult.

What can we do to fix this? We can, one, ensure that we are putting a REASONABLE amount of work on students. The workload of many schools is one of the leading causes of student burnout, as it does not allow students to receive an adequate amount of sleep, which is around 9 hours per day (2). Secondly, accommodating all learner needs is more beneficial than teaching material in a way that is only understood by a percentage of the class. These accommodations can be made in even the subtlest changes, such as changing the method in which material is taught, or assigning students to a certain area of the room to avoid distractions.

Sources:
1.https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-and-behavioral-health/additional-resources/comprehensive-school-based-mental-and-behavioral-health-services-and-school-psychologists#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20U.S.%20Department,and%20alcohol%20and%20substance%20abuse.
2. https://www.einsteinmed.edu/education/student-affairs/academic-support-counseling/medical-school-challenges/study-burnout.aspx#:~:text=Factors%20leading%20to%20study%20burn,time%20management%20and%20unrealistic%20goals.

-Diya Gaur, AP World History (A1)

Shazia Rahaman

11/9/2022 05:37:53 pm

The education system needs to change to meet the needs of the 21st century. The current schooling system promotes busy work and individual memorization and is a test of who is willing to sit and complete grueling coursework. That person is then deemed the most intelligent by their peers and instructors. As a result of this environment that promotes competition and rote memorization (only to forget all of the information after achieving a certain number on a piece of paper), students are awake late into the night, completing what many might deem as busy work. However, if schools could take a more productive, efficient approach that fosters growth and supplies meaningful work instead of busy work, students would sleep more, a factor key to academic success, as stated in an NIH study. The study finds that students who sleep more tend to achieve higher GPAs. If schools could promote student well-being by reducing busy work (resulting in more sleep for students), students would achieve higher and reap more productive scholastic rewards that benefit their futures and global presence.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4571043/

- Shazia Rahaman

RULES

1. Respond to the MOST RECENT discussion question or another student's comment within that feed.

2. To receive any credit, your response needs to make a clear argument (thesis statement) which is supported by at least one piece of SOLID/FACTUAL evidence (citing a credible source). [Think ACES format]

3. You response does not need to be an essay. 4-5 COMPLETE sentences should suffice.

4. WRITE YOUR FULL NAME AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR RESPONSE!

5. Please remain civil and keep things PG. It's OK to disagree with someone, but don't call them an idiot.

Open Class Discussion Board