Today the world is going through a period that can be called "information glut" - the amount of incoming flow that falls on the average resident of a metropolis is much larger than the bandwidth of his perception. We are literally drowning in an abundance of advertising, news, reviews, videos, competition results and other information "noise". In such a situation, the role of education in life becomes invaluable - both school and university, as well as optional, independent.
How the amount of "stored knowledge" in the world increased
For a primitive communal tribe, any knowledge was a treasure - gained through suffering, bit by bit collected from many mistakes and failures, it was passed from father to son, from mother to daughter, from shaman to student. How to make a stone tip, how best to sneak up on a mammoth, and then save his skin. The chain was interrupted - knowledge was lost.
Over time, the needto secure precious technologies and recipes led to the emergence of writing - primitive icons on stone and clay eventually turned into an alphabet. Clay tablets evolved into papyrus scrolls and handwritten leather books. And all this time, information was the greatest value - the libraries were valued by the emperors above silver and gold. The role of education in the modern world is not so acutely felt - after all, all the knowledge of the world is open to us.
Gutenberg's printed books were the first breakthrough. From an elite subject, the book began to turn into a prestigious thing, but also accessible to the middle class. Since then, the number of books in the world has multiplied, creating more and more "preserved knowledge". At the same time, there was still a shortage of information - most people accepted less of it than they could absorb.
Computer age
The emergence of the Internet has become a real revolution - no less, and perhaps more significant than the printing presses. The spread and quantity of information with the advent of the World Wide Web began to grow at a fantastic pace.
Over time, the average user of a personal computer, spending 3-4 hours online, became literally "overloaded" with an endless stream of chaotic knowledge splashing out on him from the computer screen.
At the same time, most of the information is frankly "garbage". A huge amount of advertising, memes, jokes and jokes do not carry anythingmeaningful. They literally "clog the working memory" of a person, significantly reducing his mental abilities.
An excessive amount of theory has led to a decrease and deterioration of practice. If four hundred years ago an apprentice who learned the technology of firing pots from a master, not only used it "from and to", but also often improved it, today most of us simply "dump" 99% of what we perceived in a day from RAM.
That is why the role of education in the modern world should not be reduced to the diligent acquisition of knowledge. Much more attention should be paid to filtering, focusing on the necessary, the formation and development of certain skills.
What are we really being taught?
I'm sure many of us, when entering a university, were horrified to realize that the knowledge gained over eleven years of diligent cramming was either simply not needed, or was safely forgotten when passing the final exams. How often can one hear from teachers of an institute or academy - "forget everything you were taught at school." Excuse me - so what were these long years at the desk for?
It's even more amazing when, when applying for a job, we hear again - forget everything you were taught in high school. It turns out that a decade and a half should just be "thrown into a landfill"? Then why is such an education needed?
Why is this happening?
The fact is that the modern educational system simply does not keep up with the pace of development of society. New programhas not yet managed to get into the pages of textbooks, but is already outdated. Today, many scientists and educators are beginning to say that the role of education in the modern world is to capture the processes taking place in the world and "arm" a person with an optimal set of skills that allow him to successfully achieve his goals.
If a hundred years ago the education system was a locomotive developing human thought, now it is turning into a brake that limits it.
What needs to be changed
What points are scientists around the world now focusing on?
- "Heaviness". It refers to the duration of the processes of creating special programs, according to which schoolchildren and students are taught. Development, testing, testing, release - it takes many times longer than necessary. The development of education in the modern world is based precisely on such protracted, overly elaborated processes.
- The dominance of "academic" subjects. Mathematics, physics, language and literature - these disciplines account for the lion's share of school time. Of course, they are needed, but is it in such a volume? Remember how often most of us need algebra or higher mathematics? Second-class arithmetic is enough to calculate change in a store. But girls at eighteen simply cannot cook dinner, and boys cannot hammer a nail or pump up a flat car tire.
- Emphasis on the lecturer's, "a priori" presentation of information. This factor is more pronounced at school, where in the vast majority of subjects, an alternative point of view is considered heretical and is punished with bad marks. One gets the impression that the role of education in the modern world is to "sharpen" the individual to one average standard.
- Predominance of theory over practice. This ratio is very disharmonious. Any person who has tried to master, for example, ten-finger touch typing using a computer, will see that for fifteen minutes of studying the program, there are many hours of practical exercises. Behind the desk, the opposite is true - teaching theoretical material is many times greater than mastering practical skills.
As we can see, science and education in the modern world are far from optimal. What subjects could be introduced, for example, in general education schools?
Car maintenance
Today, almost every family has a passenger car, or even more than one. At the same time, everyone has to study for several months (most often combining this with work) and pass on the rights, spending strength, nerves and time on this. In high school, it would be quite possible to teach both the theory and practice of driving. In two years (grades 10 and 11), schoolchildren would have mastered all the necessary knowledge base, and managed to dash off 300-500 hours. This would lead to a significant reduction in the number of accidents and an improvement in the overall situation on the roads. Unfortunately, the education system in the modern world prefers to teach logarithms and root extraction, whichmay be useful, at best, to one in ten graduates.
Maintenance, knowledge of regulations - all this would also have a place in the watch grid.
Legal Literacy
Professional lawyers do not always understand the intricacies of our laws, but for the layman it is generally a dark forest. It would be worth teaching the rights and obligations of a citizen in various life situations, the ability to work with relevant documents and government structures, starting from grades 7-8. Imagine the importance of education in today's world if such subjects began to appear in mainstream schools.
Financial "personal management"
The vast majority of us do not know how to properly manage our money - from household expenses to lending in banks. It is unlikely that this greatly worries the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, but how many people, numerous mistakes lead to falling into "debt pits", business failures, problems with the family budget. Of course, you need to learn from your mistakes, but you can do without them.
You can start learning how to handle money from elementary school, instilling in children a reasonable and serious attitude towards material values. Alas, the problems of education in the modern world are very serious, and it is unlikely that such a subject will appear in general education schools in the near future.
Time management, or "time management"
Think about how efficient you areuse time during the day. Thinking? If you sit down for five minutes with a pen and paper and remember everything you did during the day, you will see that with minimal planning for the tasks for the day, you would get half as many useful things.
Children are a clean slate. Systematic training, starting from grades 3-4, would create a reinforced concrete habit for the final exams to plan and calculate your actions, write down phone numbers and contact details, save and wisely use your precious time. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation is unlikely to introduce such a revolutionary subject into the school curriculum in the near future, and it is worth counting only on universities, especially those with a financial and economic bias.
Domestic skills of men and women
In Soviet times there was a good subject called "labor". It was taught to work with a jigsaw, burn wood, grind parts on a milling machine, and knock together stools. The girls were offered cutting, embroidery, knitting and sometimes the basics of cooking. Some of this could be applied in life, some not, but on the whole there was a he althy grain in it.
In today's school, work has evolved into a discipline called technology. This subject has even less practical significance for students - since the world has changed a lot since the time of "labor", and the program has changed little - and this is an indicator that the education system in the modern world is constantly lagging behind. He looks closely, ponders, analyzes, painfully "gives birth" and constantly does not keep up with the world.
What should be taught in technology lessons? How to fix a socket and screw a chandelier, how to assemble a closet and drill a wall. Using the stove and steamer, washing machine and dishwasher would be a great help to young people walking out of the school gates.
Summing up
Science and education in the modern world are not too similar to each other. Science is the edge of human thought, directed from the past into the unknown, these are brilliant insights and amazing discoveries. Education in its main segment is an echo of the echo that has passed through many filters, refined knowledge, often outdated or simply unnecessary.
The role of education in society is extremely high. It's a good or bad job, it's an interesting or boring life, it's dull everyday life or sparkling adventures. A person can study all his life, or he can stop developing already at the school desk.
What do we see now, today? The twenty-first century offers mankind the most serious challenges in its entire history. In order for us to overcome them with honor, science and education in the modern world must be synchronized, creating a real "new man".
