Posts tagged school system

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk about Changing education paradigms describes in great detail how the current education model was created in the image of the industrial revolution and specifically the Waterfall model of manufacturing. Here are some examples of the similarities between the two models:

1. Waterfall model enforces structure and discipline by dividing the process into stages. Schools enforce this structure by implementing separate facilities, compartmentalizing students by age and subjects. Discipline is enforced through ringing bells, timetables and uniforms.
2. In Waterfall model every phase has a defined start and end point, and progress can be conclusively identified by milestones. Schools achieve this by dividing students into batches based on “Manufacturing Date” (date of birth) of students. Each batch starts learning on the same date and ends on the same date with progress measured through standardized tests that are the same for all students in a batch.
3. Waterfall model maintains that one should move to a phase only when it’s preceding phase is completed and perfected. In schools, students learn a topic and move from one year to the next in a strictly sequential order with emphasis on completion and perfection of one topic before moving on to the next.
4. Waterfall model hypothesis states that collecting all requirements at the beginning of the project will reduce rework and redesign at later stages. The education system is based on a similar hypothesis that if you study hard for the first 15-20 years of your life, do well in school and get a college degree, you will get a good job.

Modern industries have realized the drawbacks of using waterfall model in the 21^st century economy. Today, market conditions change so rapidly that often customers don’t really know what they want up-front; rather, what they want emerges out of repeated two-way interactions over the course of the project. In this situation, the waterfall model, with its emphasis on up-front requirements capture and design, is seen as somewhat unrealistic and unsuitable for the vagaries of the real world. Further, given the uncertain nature of customer needs, estimating time and costs with any degree of accuracy (as the model suggests) is often extremely difficult. In order to cater to this dynamic environment, most innovative manufacturing and tech companies today have evolved an iterative Agile model.

The public education system based on the antiquated waterfall model worked well in the 20^th century industrial age because it helped produce the skills that were ideal to fit into the industrial culture such as following sequential manufacturing stages, starting and ending shifts on time, following detailed instructions, memorizing operational tasks and reproducing them repetitively as quickly as possible. All this changed with the advent of the digital information age and the widespread use of computers. Computers can automate repetitive tasks and perform them much faster than any human with much less error. 

I believe that it is time to reshape the education industry by introducing the technology, culture, methodologies and processes used by the most innovative and creative companies in the world and teaching them to students in schools today. Just as the manufacturing and tech industries moved away from the traditional Waterfall model to a more Agile and Lean model to keep up with changing market needs and expectations,  education systems too need to move towards an Agile pedagogical model globally for the new digital generation.

Atul Pandey
Founder Wisekangaroo