Why change schools?

“The object of teaching a child is to enable the child to get along without the teacher. We need to educate our children for their future, not our past.”

Arthur C. Clarke

Bermuda is a proud nation, a small island, in an increasingly globalised and uncertain world. For our young people, for Bermuda, to survive and thrive in the 21st century our schools need to enable them to develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes and values that will enable them to access, and be the creators of the jobs of the future, to be active citizens and to tackle increasingly complex challenges.

Global forecasts predict that, because of artificial intelligence, robots and other economic and technological developments, most people will not have a job for life, instead changing their careers four or five times across their lifetime. And this will require a broader set of capabilities than ever before people - creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, agency, entrepreneurship and continuous learning.

Covid-19 has accelerated some of these trends and significantly increased the unpredictability of the future, especially for Bermuda.

International business - financial, insurance and software services - which contributes over 30% of Government revenue, has realised that most of its staff can work remotely. Tourism which provides over 1 in 7 jobs in Bermuda is very likely to sharply decline at least for the next 18 months to two years. And the threats of climate change and resource depletion have not gone away.

Our traditional assumptions about education and employment no longer hold. The curriculum which may have served us well in the past is no longer fit for purpose. The ‘one size fits all’ model of teaching and learning cannot address the unique needs, passions and circumstances of each young person – resulting in too many students not being engaged and too many of them not reaching their potential.

Fortunately, Bermuda has a proud history of resilience and reinvention. The school system is a pillar of our economy and our country. We can seize this moment to reshape education, to enable our next generation to help shape the future of Bermuda, to be both great employees and great entrepreneurs, great creators of employment.

 

Personal reflection

Government has a key role in setting the vision for the future of our education system, and in creating the conditions in which this vision can be realised. But it is only by us all - teachers, students, parents, businesses, communities, and Government - working together that we can design and develop schools that enable all our young people to thrive, a school system of which we can be justly proud, and in which teachers are held in high esteem.

What could you contribute to a community committed to redesigning Bermuda’s schools that prepare children and young people for their future instead of our past?

We would love to hear your thoughts, and invite you to share on Twitter using the #LearningFirstBDA hashtag.

 
SUGGESTED TIME: 
10 minutes
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY:
Easy
MATERIALS NEEDED:
All you will need is some time and space to think, and to share with a partner or on social media if you want to
PARTICIPANTS:
This is a personal reflection but you can of course share your thoughts on social media or with a friend/colleague