Why Today’s Education Curriculum is Failing Us

I am frustrated by the education system. The reason so many people want to be entrepreneurs right now, is because our education system is failing us. And I don’t mean primary school. But EVERYTHING after it. I look back to what I was taught in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and not much has changed. Math is still held in such a high regard, but they are teaching stuff 99% of students will never use in their work career, or in life for that matter. Geometry, trigonometry, linear algebra… really? What about teaching high schoolers how to read a financial statement? Or managing finances? Or opening up a savings account? Why not teach real world math? If you want to learn geometry, well then do it, but do you need a teacher for that, in today’s digital age? Go to YouTube, Udemy, or ask away on LinkedIn.

At the World Economic Forum in January 2018, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, said “If we do not change the way we teach, 30 years from now, we will be in trouble. The way we teach, the things we teach our kids, are the things from the past 200 years. It is knowledge based. And we cannot teach our kids to compete with machines … We have to teach them something unique, so that a machine can never catch up with us.”

Robots Will Keep Replacing Jobs. How Can We Compete Tomorrow?

Ma also believes that robots will replace 800 million jobs by 2020. With Amazon around, does anyone doubt this?

So how can humans gain an upper hand on machines? Where are all the communication courses? And I don’t mean how to read great works like Shakespeare or Hemingway, or how to write poems, but how to communicate with people? How to take criticism, and how to give it? How to better read social cues. How to conquer the job interview process. How to become self aware. How to get more out of your team, whether you’re leading it or a part of it. Why aren’t these tools and techniques being practiced when we’re 15, 20, 25 years of age?

And the real fire in me is about the lack of Digital Marketing, Social Media, Ecommerce, and true leadership courses in College or University. And when they are taught, they are generally (there are some exceptions out there for sure) taught by individuals who have never done the job. I see students being taught course after course in Social Media and Ecommerce by professors or instructors who have no idea what the day-to-day looks like. They read outdated books and give irrelevant examples. There are Ecommerce and Digital Marketing roles popping up at every company. And we are doing a disservice to these students in not getting them prepared. I have hired numerous students right out of University, and they learned more in 3-4 weeks in the role then they may have learned in 3 years in their program. Why? They were taught from textbook (if at all) and had no hands-on experience from a professor who himself (or herself) had none either. There are still some education institutions not teaching Ecommerce in their schools. Outrageous. Ludicrous. Are they not watching the trends?

How Much Does a Teacher and a Projector Cost?

Scott Galloway, a professor, retail visionary, branding expert, and author of the book The Four, says something really interesting, especially since he is a prof at NYU (he’s one of the profs that actually has done what he teaches). “I teach 120 kids on Tuesday nights in my Brand Strategy course. That $720,000, or $60,000 per class, in tuition payments, a lot of it financed with debt. I’m good at what I do, but walking in each night, I remind myself we (NYU) are charging kids $500/minute for me and a projector. This. Is. Fuc***g. Ridiculous.”

I love and respect Galloway’s opinion. Always have. He speaks his mind, and is usually right. Galloway, like Ma, also believe the future of education is online and offline (as in still physically attending), but that the focus should be on creativity, design, humanities, art, and writing. I think we should add leadership (learning how to take direction, as well as one day give it) and communication in there as well.

We’re Teaching Like It’s 1970

Jack Ma and Scott Galloway are right. We are stuck in the 1970s, teaching things students have no interest in. So they either leave school early and do nothing, are unprepared for their jobs, or can’t wait to leave school so they can become entrepreneurs.

Teachers are not the issue here. They will adapt. Governments need to step in, higher learning institutions need to step up, Education Ministers need to be more progressive, and parents need to rise together: we are teaching our kids and young adults the wrong curriculum. The curriculum of 2018 and beyond needs to evolve with the times.  It does not need a minor adjustment. It needs to be blown up and re-created to serve the needs of each student in order for them to become great employees, leaders,  owners, or visionaries of next gen companies.

This topic and lack of preparation I see students receive has inspired me to do something about it. Stay tuned on what that looks like. I may need some time to set it up, but I am willing to mentor, coach, and teach young and old to win in the Digital Age. Today’s education curriculum is failing us. I want to help in any small way I can.

 

Do you agree that the education system is failing our students to become great employees and leaders in the digital age? Do we need minor adjustments? Or do we need a major shift, like Ma, Galloway and myself are advocating for.