Who is going to disrupt our educational system?

"The world needs a new curriculum," affirmed the renowned educationalist and author Marc Prensky during a recent conference dedicated to technology in education.

"We have to rethink the 19th Century curriculum” he said.

And what exactly needs to be changed or refined?

Here are 10 major questions that can help guide this reflection:

1 - What is the significance and applicability of what is being taught? How practical (and therefore engaging) is the existing curriculum?

2 - Is the existing curriculum covering an overwhelmed amount of content leaving little room for teacher's discretion and the introduction of new (and 21st century relevant) disciplines in a more consistent basis? When should for example, entrepreneurship, computational thinking, personal finances, robotics and engineering be introduced as part of the curriculum?

3 - Is the curriculum still "compartmentalized", neglecting the obvious need for an interdisciplinary teaching approach? What is the appropriate sequencing within subjects and between them? 

4 - Is the school system and curriculum itself constructed around the principle of helping kids to develop the "4 C's" skills that are so vital for our times: creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration? 

5 - Is the school system helping the kids to develop behaviors, values and attitudes that are so relevant for thriving in our times? Is it nurturing adaptability, resilience, persistence, compassion (in terms of capacity to transport oneself to other one's reality), integrity, justice and ethics?

6 – Should the teacher's role becomes one of a guide or project manager, while students watch lectures at their own pace, communicating with classmates and teachers in person but also online? What is the ideal balance for this equation?

7 - How equipped is our teachers to adapt curriculum to different learning styles and to teach students not only what, but how to learn?

8 - What would need to be true for teachers to be able to "personalize learning" and facilitate students’ pursuing of their own passions in addition to the regular curriculum?

9 - What is the role of the school system in supporting kids with foundational barriers such as lack of at least one carrying adult in their lives, food or house insecurity, health challenges and others? What resources and what type of training is needed for supporting kids that are not finding success in the existing model? Shouldn't we invest the most exactly at this stage in order to level the playing field as early as possible?

10 - What are the resources and guiding materials available for teachers and how innovative, 21st century centered, are they? How are the new teachers being taught and prepared in Colleges and Universities?

With so many ruptures and innovations across the board, the basic educational system - the true base of the pyramid - is certainly falling behind.

While private schools have naturally, a faster capacity to adapt, a tremendous task force is needed in order to re-think and transform the existing public educational system.

In summary:

How best to revamp a 200 years old model while creating minimum turbulence during the transition?

Who will lead the process that will tackle such a massive and foundational challenge?

Who is going to disrupt our educational system?