· Link Some Neurons ·

I think the educational system is seriously faulty. It is rather obvious but often ignored because humans are still able to become professionals, academics, and artists despite going through this system. However, I believe this is possible not thanks to, but despite the current educational system, and it is only due to our ability to overcome challenges. This state of the educational system also often makes me wonder if it is intentionally designed to prepare people to adapt to the faults we face in almost every aspect of life.

When I realized something was wrong with this system, I was around 12 years old. While searching on the internet, I came across Ken Robinson’s inspirational TED Talk, “Do schools kill creativity?” By the time I was 16 and in high school, preparing for the university entrance exam, I became frustrated with the ineffectiveness of the system.

The main errors I find in the current educational system are:

• The time spent in traditional educational institutions, both in terms of hours and years.
• The inability of these institutions to equip people with the necessary skills for the modern age, whether they want to be professionals, academics, or artists.
• The rigidity and one-size-fits-all model of the current system, leading to its ineffectiveness.
• The fact that traditional educational institutions simply cannot keep up with the rapid developments of our era, not only in terms of curriculum but also in terms of adaptability.

I will explain each point briefly; they are interconnected.

School takes approximately 15 years of our lives. It starts at the age when we begin to understand the world around us and stops at an age when we are suddenly faced with a multitude of responsibilities and expectations. These are some of the most enjoyable years of our lives due to the innocence, ignorance, and lack of responsibility during childhood, and yet these years are mostly spent in what we call schools. For what purpose? “Kids will socialize and learn subjects.” Do they, though?

Regarding socialization, humans have a tendency to interact with others; if you lock 30 criminals in a small room they can barely fit in, they will still socialize—consider prisons. In terms of kids, it’s even more likely because most children are less judgmental when it comes to approaching another individual; in other words, they think less.

The learning aspect bothers me the most. Today, an average university graduate lacks the necessary skills to take the next step, whether in becoming a qualified worker or an academic. They often learn the most on the job. What was the purpose of those 15 years, then?

Students eagerly await holidays and do nothing to improve in their fields unless directed. Schools do not foster a habit of learning.

I acknowledge that a new journalist doesn’t learn how to write an article on the job, nor does an engineer learn calculus on the job, and so on—despite some exceptions. However, these are the basics of these professions. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, suggests that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master complex skills and materials—in other words, to become an expert. School life totals approximately 6 hours a day, 20 days a month, 9 months a year, resulting in a total of 16,200 hours over 15 years, which barely prepares us to be beginners in a field. This ineffectiveness is frustrating, especially when considering that this system takes away some of the most beautiful years of our lives. When you think about it, it is unbearable. Alongside this ineffectiveness, schools also stifle the uniqueness and creativity of each individual due to their one-size-fits-all model, rigidity, and lack of room for initiative.

In addition, schools cannot keep up. The subjects barely change despite the evolving world; there are rapid advancements in many fields, yet education remains stagnant. Today’s classrooms are not much different from those of generations past. Teaching methods have hardly changed, and developments are often demonized. Schools and educators frequently recommend less time on computers and mobile phones without considering their pros and cons and ways to use them effectively. A recent example is the emergence of AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, alongside the efforts made by educational institutions to limit their use; there has been public demonization of these tools in media outlets as well.

How to Fix It: If I Had a Magic Wand

• Installment of personalized AI assistants for each student to allow them to chase their interests by providing roadmaps, materials and helping them in understanding complex subjects.
• A curriculum that aims to give students the understanding of lifelong learning to decrease the throwbacks in summer breaks and encourage the act of learning after school ends.
• Decrease of hours in each day, removing summer break, creating summer term. If lessons are 4 hours a day, 5 days a week for 9 months, they could be reduced to 2 hours a day, 3 days a week during summer terms.

By these, I aim to create a discovery hub. A total of 12,600 hours education in 15 years which is more than enough to seriously discover multiple fields and become proficient in at least one. In this way, we create a system that allows students to chase their interests, experience different fields and decide in which they perform well and enjoy the most and we do all that effectively.

• The job of being a teacher should be seperated into two: A student supervisor, who tracks the progress and paths of the students and an educator who gives lectures in classrooms and also video records them to upload them online for the access of each student around the world who could need that lecture to make progress on their path.
• There should be sessions of students to socialize correctly, for example, discussion sessions to teach them how to argue in a respectful manner.
• There should be sessions where students are encouraged to dream and envision not only their own future but also the future of the world they live in because they are are going to use what they learn in school while living in the future and to solve the problems of the future not the problems of today, that’s business of the experts of today.
• There should also be sessions regarding correct and effective usage of technological tools.

I am aware that a 1000 words blog post will not present a concrete alternative to a faulty system that is embraced globally for centuries. My aim is to write down my thoughts and encourage people to think about it if it seems intriguing. I hope to revisit this blog post later, hopefully as a more intellectually developed person than I am today.

If you are interested:

Do schools kill creativity? by Ken Robinson | TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&pp=ygURa2VuIHJvYmluc29uIHRlZCA%3D