“You aren’t going to have a calculator in your pocket.” It’s a phrase that I think most people, especially adults, have heard thrown around before. However, hearing this statement in the present day would make anyone stop and think because the vast majority of the population has not just a calculator but something far more powerful at its fingertips. We can look up the answer to almost any question that our brains can formulate; the information is easily accessible at all times. So the real question is: has technology developed too fast for education to keep up?
Now thrown into the deep end of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the school system has been forced to contend with all of the following: access to advanced methods of academic dishonesty, dependency on cell phones, the need to make lessons relevant and still applicable in the future, and teaching students who simply have to weather the career crisis when AI takes over.
Arguably, education had been outdated years before these were the central concerns. Standardized testing has been proven to be ineffective, prioritizing memorization over critical thinking. Education often has a one-size-fits-all approach, oblivious to the students who need extra help (or an extra challenge, for that matter). Unfortunately, all of this then leads to teacher burnout, which is why we are facing a shortage in some parts of the country. Those who are quick to blame the staff don’t understand that they are under the same obligation that students are: to adapt to the new world on their own.
The outdated system was already a topic of discussion for good reason. Combined with AI, the new dynamic after COVID, and the way that we as a society are expected to function now, the issue can no longer be ignored. Students experience extreme burnout, dreading each lesson and abandoning their academic obligations.
Is the school system so badly in need of an update that it is now affecting education and employment? That is a question that we have avoided answering, but perhaps delaying the inevitable “yes” answer is one of the main reasons why we’re now so far behind in rebuilding the system.
