Ten deadly sins of education

Abstract

Education is necessary but 'schools' (as we know them) are not. How much of what we formally learn is ever useful in real life? Some studies show that it's only between 8 and 12%. The article tries to analyze the challenges and issues facing contemporary education. What are the 'deadly sins': The existing educational system is not very useful as far as the quality of its outcome is concerned; it is not flexible in embracing the Wiki world and high technology; education is slow in moving from bureaucracy toward entrepreneurship and creativity; separation between learning and working should be abandoned; instead of cramming, the students should be stimulated to analyze, reason, research, inquire and 'think with their own head'; learning is important, but so is unlearning; teachers must be able to teach the rational stuff in a cool and inspirational way; the students should be trained for attitude, not just knowledge and skills; education must re-establish the lost connection between art and science, wisdom and practicality; education should go lower on theory, and higher on applicability. If we want to create a better educational system, changing culture is by far more important than changing curricula.