Times are changing. 5 year olds these days do not play with mud, but Iphones, tabs and Xboxes. Children are born into a vastly digital world where each and every service is just a tap away. Food is swiggied, then the picture of that food is instagrammed and whatsapped within seconds, after which the favourite show is played on Netflix to chill. Human interactions have taken a back seat while virtual reality is on the rise. The economy and the technology revolving around it is rapidly transforming on a day to day basis. In such an environment, how is it fair to squeeze today’s growing youth to fit in the age-old educational practices?
What is skill based learning?
Instead of making the young crowd write down notes, draw diagrams and byheart maps, creating an opportunity for the students to understand concepts, by breaking them down and nurturing an environment to develop,
- Leadership skills
- Communication skills
- Adaptability skills
- Time management skills
- problem solving skills
- Creative skills
and several other life skills are referred to as skill based learning. Such skills enable the student to build a strong foundation at an early stage and perform well in the personal and professional front in the future. Skill based learning primarily focuses on planning, implementing and evaluating the skills which are acquired through the knowledge based learning occurring in classrooms.
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think!” It’s important to create independent thinkers who’re far more capable of dealing with real world scenarios responsibly and wisely. The decision of choosing what to think and understand of the world should be left to the young individual alone. The schools should equip them with skill sets and boost their critical and creative thinking to create a framework for them to learn and grow.
Too comfortable in the old ways?
The IBM Ceo himself stated that, “Growth and comfort doesn’t co-exist!”
If you ever get too comfortable and cozy while you’re in the path to achieve some goal, you should realize that you’ve ceased growing.
The Indian education system is highly academic centric. When Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2021, a joke was being circulated in social media platforms, that went something like this, “Everybody wants an Olympic champion in their family, but nobody wants their child to focus on sports.” Such is the century old Indian obsession with the traditional textbook method of learning.
The current world demands skill based education more than ever. It’s time to free children from the narrow confines of classrooms. Rot learning and vomiting the year long syllabus on the answer papers in the final exam doesn’t help the student grow and in the current times, keeping the youngsters stuck in the old ways is pure injustice. They deserve to acquire the education which in its real sense prepares them for the outside world. Because unlike us, their future is probably going to be dominated by AI, the new era of computing and 5G network connections.
