Initially, it is easy to spot a correlation between the PISA rating and economic prosperity measured in terms of GDP per capita. But can a country be deemed successful barely on those indicators? Are literacy and basic arithmetic ability alone good enough indicators, what other variables besides economic performance are there?

The main purpose of education is to prepare the children for the challenges of tomorrow. We cannot vouch for what the future beholds, but if we keep going at a similar pace, educated children should find it easier to find a satisfying path they would want to take. With increased life expectancies children of today can be expected to take on multiple roles in their future: it is evident that they should be prepared in a broader sense not to just find one exclusive career path, but a range of applicable skills that can be used in all spheres.   

Each child is expected to develop in school to reach their full potential as an adult. The same standards apply to all, as we are expected to fit the specific mold and certain criteria. This can be deemed dangerous because we may be wasting a lot of potential in the process, which is harmful to society and us. It would be preferable to encourage each child to reach its potential, although we do not appear to have found the perfect solution to this thus far. It’s hard to grasp! With the existing knowledge and advanced technology, it should be easier to develop a new system that accounts for differences and matches the natural diversity in strengths. Each talent can be led to find their own unique role in the society according to what they have to bring to the table. Where do you foresee yourself in ten years?

We are fast approaching an era of artificial intelligence and robots that can outperform humans in most of the skills we teach the children of today. Mathematics, problem-solving, applied writing – computers can do all of these more efficiently than humans. Replacing employees with robots makes perfect sense. It is already happening in a number of industries including healthcare, assembling lines, retail, and services. We have no reason to believe it will stop any time soon because companies have calculated the economic effect beforehand.

It is the roles that differentiate humans from other species that will have a demand for our children. Machines have not been taught to be creative, inventive, entrepreneurial and empathetic - humans still excel at intuition, cultural sensitivity, and lateral thinking. Should the development of these skills be stressed in the schools of tomorrow? 

It is notoriously difficult to implement changes in schools, which require existing teachers to undergo additional training, but there is no way forward without it. Policymakers still fail to ask the more important question of the purpose of education in the lives of people who are expected to live up to a century in societies that change rapidly. Which challenges can they expect to face in twenty or fifty years? With recent exponential technological progress, it may be difficult to predict the near future, but we should make an effort to try at the least for the sake of our future generations.

Today’s education still has a clear focus on writing. While it may appear counterintuitive considering the aforementioned, it is what develops the key skills of today – effective communication. Different students can excel in different areas and struggle in others. For the latter, there is a useful solution in an online research paper writing service. If you realize you can use your time more effectively to develop the more important skills that will benefit you in the future. Do not hesitate to try it out!

It is not a sole responsibility of politicians to define the future of our education system. Each of us has the ability to voice their opinion by the means of social media or direct feedback. Schools can be backward in many aspects, but if you have sound ideas, do share them with your teachers. You would be surprised where your initiative can take you!