Skills For The Win

An American TV channel was conducting a program in which people who were walking in the street were asked a simple science question and if they answered correctly, they were given a gift. The questions are written on folded paper and put in a bowl. The walking person was asked to take a paper at random and answer the question.

And one day, the TV crew saw Einstein walking in the street. They were delighted and surrounded the great scientist with their camera. After explaining the nature of the program, they asked Einstein to take a paper and answer the question. Einstein took the paper and read the question “what is the velocity of light”. Einstein said, “I don’t know the answer”. The TV crew laughed and said, “That is a good joke. But sir, please complete the formality and take the gift”. Einstein said seriously “No, I am not joking. Frankly I don’t remember”. The TV people exclaimed in disbelief “How can that be, sir”. Einstein shot back “Why not? Why should I stuff my mind with all this information? If I want, I can get it from the books.?I am not interested in what is already in the books. I am interested only in those things which are not yet in the books”.

If we replace the book with the Internet, which is an ocean of information and a wealth of knowledge literally at our fingertips, this is true for every human being on the planet. There is no need to know and remember things. Learning Arithmetic completely changed when the electronic calculator got invented in the late 60s or early 70s. After that, it is not required to remember the maths tables, calculate basic functions, logarithms, and sine, cosine, and tangent functions.

With the invention of the Internet and the smartphone, we can find the answer online by just asking Siri, Alexa, or Google. There is simply no need to memorize reams of facts.??

Now the question is what are the skills that we all need. There is certainly one skill that is to know how to work together. As human beings, understanding and practicing empathy, well-being, and how we interact, communicate and collaborate with people is the key to success. When we now come out from the pandemic and our working environment is getting better, we are realizing that the absence of face-to-face contact was damaging. The lack of social interaction has led to mental health issues, particularly in children and youths.?

?The current education system is old and worked well in previous centuries, but it is not suitable in today's world. When people work from anywhere and everywhere, the key to operating successfully in that environment will be human skills, for example - dialogue, negotiation, adapting, strategizing, and collaborating. Therefore, it is important to focus more on the skills than the knowledge.

?We need more innovation for a better future. The technology industry flourishes on innovation. For students interested in STEM and tech-based careers, it is better to do hands-on and try things for real, rather than just studying them in books for qualifications.??

?Apprenticeships and workplace schemes are great options. They are more immediate, practical, and relevant. These are the perfect environment to "let learning happen" with colleagues of all ages and levels of experience together.?

?With more innovation in technology and Edtech tools, the students are required to accompanying set of skills – being able to keep safe online, make the right judgment about the situations, identify when something is wrong, and know what to do about it. The primary skills to acquire are investigation, innovation, and collaboration. These skills will prepare individuals with the tools they need to prosper in life, as well as get into work and progress within a lifetime of learning.