A place for conformity or a place for thinking and creativity?

The first part of the title may sound frightening, right? But perhaps it is not entirely misleading considering how the school as an institution functions. Quite strict regarding what age one starts and in which classes one goes when a certain age is reached. A static structure in a world that is increasingly becoming more dynamic and complicated.

Credits to mothihada published on Pixabay

What are we teaching our children and youth, and what benefit do they gain from it as individuals and as members of society, both in small and large ways? How well is the curriculum, which describes the content and requirements for each step in school, adapted to the rapid changes occurring in society outside the school world? Is there a struggle among those responsible for the respective subject areas to ensure that their area remains unaffected by external influences? Which subject areas are the most important, and can it even be expressed that way? Isn’t it reasonable to think that all are equally important?

Research in the field we can call history is constantly making new discoveries that change the foundation of our narrative about the emergence of civilizations, insights that those we previously regarded as simpler variants of humanity were actually much more advanced than we once thought. Civilizations arose much earlier than we have considered to be true, but which should have only been a hypothesis until new knowledge emerged. How much of such knowledge is reflected in the stories we tell our children?

The new knowledge that is continually emerging in quantum physics is partially changing the fundamental view of how things are interconnected in both the small and the large universe. Everything is interconnected, and everything is built from the same fundamental building blocks. Everyone interacts with each other on some level. Our fates and our development are intertwined with everyone else's fates and development. Does this have any impact on the curriculum that exists today?

I think, schools should have a dynamic view of age in each class. Some mature later to be

able to sit still in a classroom, while others mature earlier. Reading, writing, and being able to express oneself in text is a stable foundation. Learning that there are different methods of thinking is another. Methods that are built upon and combined as the complexity within the subject area or in collaborative projects increases. This does not mean that more abstract thinking methods come in later phases of education. It just means that the level and examples vary based on the needs of the task to be solved.

The pedagogy used is incredibly central when it comes to maintaining the creativity that all children and youth possess. The space to express oneself must not limit the children’s inherent curiosity. The society they will eventually enter does not need youth with a fixed mindset. Instead, the need is for youth with a flexible perspective, filled with creative desire. A creativity that can take many different forms depending on the individual’s inclination.

In my opinion, all subject areas should constantly be reassessed based on the benefits they provide for children and youth. Necessary adjustments need to be made continuously. Some subject areas will become less significant while others, or entirely new subject areas, will gain greater importance. Prestige needs to be replaced with a lack of prestige. Schools need to be able to address the individual differences of the children entering school. However, this is not only the school’s responsibility; the surrounding society has an important role in supporting the increasingly complicated activities that a school represents. This includes parents, businesses, associations, institutes, municipalities, and politicians at all levels. Without this support, it is not possible to run a school, whether it has a more uniform focus or a more dynamic design.

Stay Conscious

Ulf