How to raise the next generation of entrepreneurs through education

Article written by Barizah Loebis & edited by Ypatios Moysiadis

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein

To innovate or die is no longer just a slogan, it is the pressing truth. Creativity is one of, if not the most, powerful tool a person or a business can have. Now more than ever, companies are in a dire need to not only push their boundaries but to radically adopt and diversify for the future.

From having brick-like Motorola mobile phones to the sleek designed iPhones, horse carriages to electrical cars, and wood burners to solar panel for the generation of energy. The world is changing, progressing, and innovating in such a rapid pace. Yet, one thing remains the same, the basic institution of education, schools.

‘Our school systems are now a matrix of organisational rituals and intellectual habits that do not adequately reflect the great variety of talents of their students. This leads to an unavoidable conflict and misdirection where too many students think that they are the problem, that they are not intelligent, or have difficulties in learning.’ 1

Ken Robinson’s thesis enticingly implies that we are currently operating a model of mass education that is failing to prepare young people for the socioeconomic demands of the digital age. Rather than coming up with obvious solutions in supporting schools with the flexibility and innovation needed, the education system has fallen for waves of standardised exams that deepens the rift and further alienates students.

It is extraordinary to see how the perception that people have regarding the limitless imagination and creativity of children change, as they progress onto early education and schools where it seems that they start losing these “magical” attributes. This sadly is true. Children, lose their freedom to explore, to take risks, and experiment as they are being put in funnel, a standardized system which limits each of their brilliant individualities.

The sad truth is that the modern educational systems worldwide were never designed to incubate and promote creativity. Most countries in the world use adaptations of the 19th century2 Prussian educational system, which implements a monolithic one way, hierarchal learning methodology and certainly, does not promote creative learning, individualism and innovation.

The classroom layout of linear rows of desks was set-up born out of the Industrial Revolution to mould blue collar workers – people who clocked in at factories and stood on production assembly lines.3 The demand to raise a new generation of creative, innovative and entrepreneurial leaders is even more pressing taking into consideration the neo-socioeconomic environment of the 21^stcentury where digitalisation (from the economy and production to our day-to-day life), new global challenges and new ethics create new challenges. Therefore, The Big question is why aren’t societies taking a leap forward but still choose to use the same educational mould as they did two centuries ago?

Unquestionably, innovation is needed in order to progress and survive. However, there is an even bigger sense of urgency to innovate in education. Experience-based and Project-based learning, re-designed classrooms, personalised technology enhanced learning programs and diversified educational goals are needed to start reshaping education and the role of teachers and students in a classroom.

The challenge of our generation is to re-invent and re-shape education to nurture the thinkers and the doers of the next generations tasked to put right all the wrong doings on our small little blue planet. After all, students are the 20% of the world population4 but they constitute 100% of the future.

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Barizah Loebis, an MSc in Entrepreneurship student at Cass Business School, City University. I had the honour and absolute pleasure to be Barizah Mentor throughout the course, I where I saw her passion for education and her entrepreneurial mind-set grow. This article was part of her self-discovery journey and I am really honoured to have her permission to publish it in my blog.

For more visit my Youtube Channel or continue reading the Cleantech Geek Blog.

Resources:

1. Robinson, Ken and Lou Aronica. Creative Schools. 1st ed. 2016. Print.

2. Rose, Joel. “How To Break Free Of Our 19Th-Century Factory-Model Education System”. The Atlantic. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.

3. Remington, Kegan. “Active Learning’s Influence On Classroom Design – Designed:2:Learn“. Designed:2:Learn. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.

4. “Education | Data”. Data.worldbank.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.