This is a random post. A friend of mine commented, when will I be writing something here. Well… life has been busy. Work has been busy and … that’s all I can say about it. This is not about my work. But it is interesting to consider the whole topic of education. It is changing and it is one industry that will constantly have a steady demand. The problem is its changing nature – it just has to change as external conditions continue to change. At this moment in 2024, the world is undergoing some economic decline. This is not only in Malaysia, but everywhere. Inflation is not just our problem – it is just everywhere.
Having said that, teaching is challenging as the new generation has evolved. Exposure to the Internet and mobile devices have changed the way “the generation” thinks. Many do not believe thinking is important – they value the ability to emote. In a world that is so “loud” on visuals, it is also “loud” in “messaging” in its various forms. This makes it is rare to find students (high school to tertiary) able to have a conversation that is longer than 5 minutes. Actually, I would dare anyone to have an actual intellectual conversation for more than 3 minutes with a teenager. Out of respect they may “listen” but they would not reply (perhaps with a “yawn”, maybe). This is the reason why many ‘new’ teachers are using ‘new’ methods to communicate to this new generation – they use social media, catch phrases, visuals, anything to illicit an emotional response from them. They know that emotions is the means to engagement for this new generation. However, the subject matter that is still in-demand and needed is intellectual. It is “academic”. And this disparity between what they “want”, versus what they “need” is driving teachers crazy.
For myself, I am an old-school teacher. Certainly I am aware of the changes. But I am also aware of the future that these young people will be facing. The commercial aspect of life – when one reaches adulthood – does not change much. “Hard work”, “Interesting ideas”, “Value for money” are the main tenets of any consumer markets regardless of generation. You may capture the young people’s market with all the “emotive” approaches – but to get them to pay for that is difficult. The accounting industry is not going to be hiring that new person who has 20,000 followers on Instagram, and has a very charming personality – the junior auditor/accountant will need to learn accuracy, hard work and a lot of people-skills (soft skills). That is why I still “lecture” in my classes. It is what college students will be met with. Trust me… no tertiary student is going to be put into a Montessori-like environment where they will be ‘learning’ through playing. Assigning many coursework to students is what one will commonly expect. Why? Because that is how “research” is communicated to the public. The mere existence of scientific journals where every finding is peer-reviewed demands that the originators of these research will “present” their findings to the people. They are not to “put on a show”. They are to “spill the beans” and “state the facts”. This is unavoidable. Which is why I am shocked to see not many secondary school teachers are “lecturing”… instead, they are doing a lot of “active learning” (nothing wrong by itself) and trying to get the students involved so that they will have a passion (which is an emotion) in the subject.
The truth is: the market needs “strong” workers that you (as founders, bosses) can rely on. They do not want workers that question every single decision made, nor workers that provides opportunities for their comfort. No, they want workers that can do the work and do it well. They need workers that are “problem solvers”, not “problem publishers”. This is something that I believe education must recover. Yes, we have a lot of new technology and new expressions, but never forget that we are in the business of preparing these young minds for the reality of a competitive work life. If you cannot survive school and tertiary studies academically, you will struggle with the work life, regardless of your emotional state or affinity to which subject.
I am still finding students who will be able to hold a decent conversations for more than 20 minutes. Have yet to find them. Perhaps you can help me?
