In a democratic society such as ours, education should be able to provide holistic learning to everyone; regardless of race, color, gender preference, nationality, etc. Our education system should produce graduates that are free from injustice, exploitation and discrimination.
We have to consider that our society is influenced by different cultures and colonized by different countries. As Philippines continuously develop, migrants and foreigners inhabit our land. As such, education should not limit us because of these. They, and even us, should not be a priority. Rather everyone should be. Education must be equally accessible to everyone. Education in the Philippines must be able to surpass the growing challenges and ever-changing society. We should not be left behind. Therefore, we should move forward and be at the forefront of education.
Universality
Some educationists hold the view that one of the goals of education should be to enable a person to realize his potential. That is, through education, a child should be equipped to become what he is capable of becoming.
As such, education should be universal. To provide holistic learning, educative process should not be limited nor restricted. As long as it promotes learning and cognitive development, education should be applied to all cases to reach one’s greatest potential.
Changing society
Our society is in a constant state of change. As the old saying goes, “Nothing in the world is permanent except change.” From the 18th to the 19th Century’s industrial revolution up to the birth of the internet, our society has been exposed to various technological advancements that man could have not imagined. With these changes, education should be able to cope up and not be left behind
Evolution of Human Minds
Humans evolve. We keep on changing from our basic needs to our cultural and social interactions. With these upgrades, our educational system should be adaptable to humanistic changes and aid in progress of young minds. We still do not know to what extent human brains can do and think. We should be able to prepare students to jobs that are yet to exist and overcome problems that are yet to face.
For 21st Century learners, the following skills should be developed to promote genuine learning towards a changing society:
Critical thinking
As critical thinkers, students should be able to think “outside-the-box.” Students should not be just trained with the concepts or facts but rather use this to solve real-world problems and think unorthodoxly.
Creative thinking
Innovation and new trends comes from a creative mind. Change occurs because of this innovation. Students should able to create solutions and provide answers when encountered with multiple, and sometimes conflicting, value systems and cultural perspectives.
Empathy
Justice and fairness could be practiced if empathy is instilled to the hearts and minds of the students. We should promote empathic teaching to reciprocate empathic learning from the students. If one has love for learning, a student’s skill to be innovative is greatly expected. That love for self-discovery fuels a student to be analytical, producing enhanced outcomes.
Endurance
Some education fails because students fail to endure the changes of the society. Frustration happens when expectations are not met. Students should be strong-willed and empowered. They should be taught of not giving up. Endurance, in this case, is not just physically but endurance mentally and emotionally.
How can we attain these H-O-T skills?
Collaborative learning
A learning environment where students are joined in a group to work as a team and discuss answers to a question, explore concepts and create a project develops critical and creative thinking. Cooperative and problem-based learning enhances students thinking skills and build rapport within the group. Through this, they were able to solve problems in a real-life context and given chances to discover more and explore more of their capabilities by working in a group.
Volunteerism or communty-based learning
Exposure to meaningful services opens the minds of young people of the truth and reality of life. This type of services inculcates empathy and develop genuine love to serve and care for people and the environment.
Promoting failures and how to cope up
Educators should let students experience failures and downfalls and guide them towards coping up with this. Vulnerability to halt learning because students fail to realize that failure is inevitable. In order to endure societal changes and demands, students should be encouraged to fail.
MITCHEL AFRICA 