Some people have talked about Education 4.0, even 5.0. But by the standard of software development, they can only be qualified as 3.x since they all are various kinds of improvements to the current education system.
Here I give a rough sketch of the first three versions of education and then describe the fourth one as clearly as possible under this short essay's constraints. This is definitely to be painted in very broad strokes. But hopefully, I can show you the forest without giving details of individual trees.
Ever since the beginning of civilization, education has been a top priority for the ruling class to ensure that their cities, states, or kingdoms can thrive or at least survive. The objective of education was to transform a boy into a master to best manage his inheritance. This is what I call Education 1.0. Typically, a student was served by several teachers. For example, in ancient China, a prince had to learn literature, math, music, archery, sword fighting, painting, and chariot riding.
Education back then was only meant for the few. The masses were kept in ignorance for the convenience of governing.
Later on, education was also provided to smart kids so they can become professionals to serve their masters. The book of Daniel in the Old Testament recorded that Daniel and his friends were handpicked to study the Babylonians' language and literature so they could serve Nebuchadnezzar. They were trained to be loyal and willing to die for their masters. There were schools specialized in specific skills such as fighting, accounting, and bookkeeping. This kind of education is what I call Education 2.0.
In this version, education was expanded to the most gifted children. But the masses were still kept uneducated.
Due to the First Industrial Revolution, a massive educated workforce was needed to take on rapidly increasing blue and white-collar jobs. Workers had to have some skill at reading, writing, and basic arithmetic. Thus public education was necessary. This is what I call Education 3.0. Its objective is to transform boys and girls into well-behaved servants.
Plato defined a slave as one who lives for someone else’s purposes. A rich slave is nevertheless a slave. A powerful slave is still a slave. Even the CEO of a global company can be laid off and has to leave his fancy office in a few minutes with the assistance of a security guard or two. In this sense, the objective of Education 3.0, just as that of Education 2.0, is to train students to become educated slaves, but on a mass scale.
Because of the differences in the objectives of these three versions, the art of teaching is different. In Education 1.0, teachers are usually well experienced and successful in the real world. They wanted to pass their skills, experience, knowledge, connection, and wisdom to their students in the last chapter of their lives. Each teacher was a master in his field who taught his students to become the new ones. Each teacher has a unique style of teaching. But they all serve the student.
In Education 2.0, students sought out their teachers. Often several of them learn together from the same teacher. The teacher is typically well experienced. One example is Confucius. Another is Medieval Europe, where universities were places where students could become professionals.
In Education 3.0, students were manufactured into workers. Everything is standardized. Students go from one grade to a higher one until graduation as if on a conveyor belt. They move from one classroom to another following rigidly timed schedules. They are taught by using the same textbooks and evaluated based on the same tests. They all have to fit into one standardized box. Teachers are treated as hired hands on an assembly line. They are disposable and exchangeable. Most of them have never even worked in the real world.
This version had worked for America’s economy until about thirty years ago. Many students from low-income families did move up into the middle class.
However, due to the mass adoption of computer technology and the Internet, our economy has changed drastically and is still rapidly evolving. Now it no longer needs that many workers. Robots and Artificial Intelligence are replacing both blue and white-collar workers. Unfortunately, schools have not changed and are still producing graduates who are not prepared for the new economy. They are like the once giant Kodak that had never caught up with the digital age.
In 2019, 57 million Americans (nearly 35% of the US workforce) were freelancing, and 60% of them were doing so by choice. That sector will grow in the coming years. It will be harder and harder to find a job working for a company and do the same thing until retirement. At the same time, it will become easier and easier to start small businesses. This new economy is for entrepreneurs.
However, our current education system was not designed to produce entrepreneurs and is detrimental to any student with an entrepreneurial spirit. Many business owners I know were considered troublemakers and rebels in high schools. They did not want to work for someone and were too free-spirited and independent to be obedient, good boys, or girls. As far as the education system is concerned, they were the defects.
We now need a major upgrade, a new version, if you will. We need Education 4.0. Interestingly, the objective is the same as that of Education 1.0, but on a massive scale. (Entrepreneurs, by definition, are masters of their businesses.) Any student who wants to become an entrepreneur can be educated as such. We have the means and resources.
Here I propose a model to give some details about this new education system. I envision a global network of community based small learning academies. Each academy can be as small as one teacher and a dozen students. The teacher owns and runs the academy so that his or her self-interest is tied to the students' future success. (A fundamental flaw in Education 3.0 is that no one in the system has a stake in the students’ future success.)
Because of the availability of many subjects on the Internet, a teacher does not have to be a subject expert. His or her role is a mentor and a coach whose responsibility is to encourage and cheer their students to achieve as much as their talents permit. Each student is cultivated as an individual with different talents, temperaments, and learning styles. Each student is taught to learn on his or her own.
Each academy is a private school that is not accredited by any government entity so that the teacher has full freedom of teaching. It is community-based so that the teacher and his or her students have the community’s support. As it is often said: “It takes a village to raise a child,” any community has to invest in their young to have a future. Churches are well suited to provide such education to the children of their congregations.
One of such schools I have envisioned provides a two-year high school education for entrepreneurs. The students spend half the day working as apprentices in the local businesses and the other half taking classes. There are only five core subjects for studying: Biblical Entrepreneurship, Practical English, Business Math, Business IT, and Business Operation. The students are encouraged to study other subjects that they like.
After two years, they can graduate and pursue further education for their vocations. They can start a business, go to a trade school, or go to a college. Students who want to go on to higher education will be provided with two more years of college preparation, taking AP and dual credit courses. This way, instead of forcing every student to go through four years of high school education, most of them only need to spend two years learning real-life skills. Only those who really want to go to college need to study for four years.
To me as an educator, this is exciting. Education transformed my life from a small-town boy in China to a well established professional in America, and I believe that Education 4.0 will lift many inner-city kids out of generational poverty and revitalize their communities. It is uncharted territory with many unknowns, risks, and opportunities. As a traveler in this world, I look forward to this new adventure. I invite you to come along and help your children and grandchildren become truly free in the Land of the Free.