By Gudmundur Hegner Jonsson
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Before I launch into what could best be described as a dystopian vision of our times, it is important to recognize that challenges provide opportunities for learning and reimagining.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided educators with opportunities to reflect upon some of the big questions: What is of value in education? How do we best educate young people for an increasingly uncertain and complex future? As the late Sir Ken Robinson noted, "the more complex the world becomes, the more creative we need to be to meet its challenges."
The climate emergency is here and now. It is evident in the increasing frequency and severity of hazards, ranging from floods and droughts to wildfires and powerful storms. A recent analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, outlines the acceleration of plant and animal extinction, with more than 500 species of land animal likely to be lost within the next 20 years. Global sea-levels are predicted to rise, with a recent report issued by Climate Central predicting that by 2100, areas now home to 200 million people could fall permanently below the high tide line.
The global political landscape is increasingly being shaped by unilateralism, misinformation and the building of walls, both real and imagined. Many societies are seeing concerning rates of voter apathy along with the fragmentation of common values representing an ever-growing threat to the social fabric. A group of 100 global political, military, and diplomatic figures from Europe and Russia recently issued a statement warning that the global nuclear threat is at its highest since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Young people the world over are showing increasing rates of depression and suicidal ideation, a situation that health professionals describe as a mental health crisis in children and young adults. This issue is acutely felt in South Korea, where the suicide rate is the fourth highest in the world according to the World Population Review, with concerning increases particularly amongst women in their teens and early 20s.
Whilst there are numerous initiatives and efforts worldwide that show us ways forward in identifying and implementing novel and encouraging solutions to many of these challenges, it is clear that education has a centrally important role to play in shaping future generations.
However, given these numerous challenges, one could make the argument that educational systems across the globe have largely failed in their responsibility to educate young people in ways that result in thriving and fulfilled communities. In this sense, education has to undergo a process of fundamental review with a view to significant and, in some cases, radical changes. A paradigm shift is needed.
The last 20 years have seen a growing body of educational research that shows us the way forward in reimagining our school communities. This reimagining centers on topics such as: sustainability; the role of student voice; self-directed learning; formative assessment models; the power of feedback; use of technology; collaborative communities; educating for creative and critical thinking; the architecture and design of school environments in promoting learning, and many more.
Over the coming months, I hope to expand on a selection of these educational initiatives that I have the great fortune of being able to explore and develop at Dulwich College Seoul.
Gudmundur Hegner Jonsson is the Head of College of Dulwich College Seoul, a part of the Dulwich College International (DCI) network of schools. Reach him at headmaster@dulwich-seoul.kr.
