Estate Living Digital Publication Issue 9 September 2015 | Seite 51

involved in writing computer code, beginning with
the user (the learner) and moving on to research,
developing a prototype, testing it and, if necessary,
starting the cycle again.
Stakeholders in the education system are usually
ambivalent about changing the tried and tested
education curricula from the 17th century
that relies on standardised tests and imposes
production line conformity. Their argument is that
young, impressionable children neither have the
knowledge nor the experience to look at problems
from an unconventional and intuitive perspective.
The experiment in the Ethiopian village is such an
eye-opener as it confirmed the presumed existence
of creative thinking skills which traditional curricula
tend to suffocate.
Schooling is important for many reasons and should
never be abolished but the problem is they have
not changed their methods to accommodate the
information era and a future that is constantly
changing. The Learning Curve is a global project to
help influence education policy and in their 2012
report they state that basic reading, writing and
arithmetic are not enough and need to address
the importance of 21st century non-cognitive
skills. Andreas Schleicher, OECD Deputy Director
for Education, explains that ‘the world economy no
longer pays for what people know, but for what they
can do with what they know’. Millennials are unique

because they are digital natives, way ahead of the
digital migrants, convergence is what they know
and they are confident, connected and prepared to
take risks and deal with change, because they live
through it perpetually. By 2025, this generation will
comprise 75% of the workforce, so it is vital that our
education system understands and develops their
way of thinking.
Educational systems need to change dramatically.
At Curro, we ensure our learners are taught how to
think rather than what to think so that they learn to
shape their minds, not their careers. This requires
shifting the emphasis of learning from curricula
content to the processes of learning. The teaching
strategy must provide learners with a 21st century
education so they are resourceful, imaginative
and logical, collaborative and inquisitive and selfdisciplined and self-aware.
At Curro, we are constantly examining and
evaluating our curricula. We are not throwing out
the three Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic
– which are still essential – but expanding the
non-cognitive skills and abilities important for
social interaction, including communication, team
working and problem-solving to ensure we remain
part of tomorrow’s world.
www.curro.co.za