Countries that want to have a successful future need to have an education system in place that will provide the thinkers of the future. Education is not just about gathering knowledge it is about the ability to use that knowledge effectively, to formulate ideas and solve problems that arise in everyday life. Methods of teaching have certainly changed through the generations. If you can buy into the latest approach as the head of an educational institution you will provide the framework that can help students develop their potential and leave with the capabilities of making a serious contribution to society.
Working Together
The approach aims to get teachers and students to work together to concentrate on thought not fact accumulation. Everyone needs to buy into the same principles and adopt an approach where thinking develops as the first priority throughout the institution. The results should be positive for teacher and student alike. While behaviour does not change overnight the benefits of this approach should gradually permeate through the community and will manifest themselves in better human interactions and more effective decision making.
It does not mean that everyone will think the same way. Different people will come to different conclusions over the same set of facts; the way it has always been in life. However, the commitment to thought is likely to engender an increasing tolerance of other people’s opinions.
Education and Examinations
You may think that there is nothing new in this. Logically everyone should spend their time from first going to school to leaving education learning and questioning what they learn. Unfortunately, many people have the view that education does not necessarily involve a great deal of thought or questioning. Examinations can be tackled simply by having enough information to answer a question rather than debating a topic and assessing the value of specific elements. There is a school of thought that examinations are more a test of memory and projects a matter of gathering and reproducing already published information.
This in no way is a direct criticism of the systems that have existed for years. The curriculum is set at a level beyond the educational institutions which need to produce successful students within those external guidelines.
Commitment
A thinking school needs to have a commitment from everyone, governors, teachers, students and parents. The teachers’ approach of course needs to change and perhaps some retraining will be needed so that the teaching approach changes.
As a fairly new concept, evidence of the lasting benefits of this new approach is limited but the initial signs are good in academic achievement and signs of improved attendance and behaviour. In any event the word is spreading far and wide with a global community spreading from the USA and Australasia to South Africa and Asian countries such as India and Thailand. This has been proven through online universities as well.
If you click here you can find out more about thinking schools. If it is a subject that interests you can read through the website’s pages and then ask any questions that come to mind. It may open a whole new approach for your institution.