"Under the new A-level curriculum, it didn't matter how students got there, as long as they got the grade. So what if they couldn't express an opinion of their own, find a secondary source or write an essay without a plan provided by their teacher?... it comes as little surprise to me to learn that undergraduate students are ill-equipped for university, that they lack independent thinking and learning skills." Janet Murray, Guardian June 2009
Crumbs! What future for society one wonders? The habits of thought required for successful innovative intitiatives in a constantly changing environment needs to be encouraged from a young age - that means an education system that values 'thoughtfulness' (learning to be wise) rather than percentages (learning to be wily). Our recent book Adventures in Complexity brings this necessity to light ...
Meanwhile, we can take heart at the work of the International Futures Forum. Their recent pamphlet, Transformative Innovation in Education, offers real food for thought and an insight into the type of conversation and engagement that is needed if children are not to remain frustrated by the present 'dinosaur' type of education.
I'm sure its the policy wonks' machinery that inhibits their ability to make changes and that there is a sound-delay inbuilt into their listening capacity. But society has been trying to tell them, for a long time now, that there is something wrong. There seems to be a faint whisper of change ... still lightyears behind present thinking ...
