School Skills vs Life Skills OR How Education Systems Are Not Keeping Pace With the Demands of the 21st Century

It is very likely that until the modern age the skills emphasized in school were necessary for achievement in adult life. However, the world is changing very quickly and our

educational systems are not keeping pace.

Success in school still depends upon:

• Following directions
• Turning in assigned work on time
• Memorization of facts
• Fast recall
• Showing steps of work
• Neat, legible handwriting
• Accurate spelling
• Punctuality
• Good organization; tidiness

All are AUDITORY SEQUENTIAL SKILLS (see post:  Is School An Obstacle to Learning?)

These auditory-sequential skills are actually limiting the potential of all students and most specifically those that are gifted and twice gifted to gain employment in today’s world. 

Citizens of the 21st century are rewarded beyond school for:

• Ability to predict trends
• Grasping the big picture
• Thinking outside the box
• Risk-taking
• Problem-finding and problem-solving skills
• Combining one’s strengths with others’ to build a strong team
• Computer literacy
• Dealing with complexity
• Ability to read people well 

These are all VISUAL SPATIAL SKILLS (see post:   Is School An Obstacle to Learning?)  
For an interesting view on creativity and the role of schools, see Ken Robinson on TED Talks:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html   

 

“Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not — because the thing they were good at school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized.”

“It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way and you lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the other way and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realize our true creative potential—in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think differently about ourselves and to act differently towards each other. We must learn to be creative.”