Thought Leadership in Education - Emerging challengesEdit post

“Dealing with Trump is only a short term solution. But the long term solution lies in dealing with the education system which has created a vote bank for him“ was one of the recent observations of a political commentator in US. It has become almost customary to blame the education system for all the evils of the society small or big, critical or casual. Though it is partly true that education shapes the thought patterns that lead to actions, there are several other social, cultural, geographic and economic shades that influence the thought architecture of the people. To hold the education system as singularly responsible will be unfair both to the system and the contributors for the system.

The focus on literacy, acquisition of data and information, replication of knowledge modules and providing tamed responses to pre-conceived questions articulated on existing answers shatter curiosity, innovation, exploration and intellectual adventure. Any argument that these are traits of only a blessed few is not valid, as recent studies on human brain and cognitive sciences have established the immense possibilities of learning and performance of all human minds.

The empowerment of learning by a positive learning ambience, moving away from an exacting right answer syndrome, encouraging discovery of new knowledge by synesthetic competencies of the human brain, supporting and scaffolding the listless possibilities of the knowledge spectrum and relevant skills are some of the desirable directions of change from the linear thinking patterns of the existing school dynamics.

The thought leadership of the education system should be able to visualize, articulate, comprehend and initiate enterprising knowledge pathways that would unfold the universe of knowledge and systems in newer perspectives.

The Big Bang is possibly yet to occur in the human thought nucleus which might reshape the life styles and the destiny of the humanity.. it may be for good or bad.. Time will answer… but it appears that universally there are not many hurdles for this explosion to occur.. where it would be seeded.. how it will spread is anybody’s guess.. Different strategies and approaches will gravitate the human mind to experiment with knowledge supporting both convergence and divergence of knowledge. Trans-migration of people into different knowledge domains in a life time will be a reality, and possibly an impending necessity of the future. The Robotic interventions are possibly the first few steps in this direction.. All this would call for redefined initiatives to our approaches to schooling, learning..memory, competency validations and skillsets propositions, its infrastructures, its software and the people participation in the relevant processes.. the educational leaders need to be conscious, willing and proactive to respond to the impact of this big bang.. New unconventional models of learning might emerge.. How we would preserve the culture, the heritage, the values and the legacy in the newer universe of operation would indeed be a challenge… though diversified options would exist in different geo-political set ups.

The National Policy and the examining boards need to respond to the emerging academic, social and global compulsions before it is too late to act.