What is school for?

In 2012, he wrote a manifesto about what school is for, entitled Stop Stealing Dreams, which you can access here. You can also download its eBook version here, and it’s free.

And if you are a Filipino interested in innovation financing, you might find what you’re looking for in this resource from the Global Innovation Index 2020 report.

Podcast highlights:

• Data on Higher Education Graduates by Discipline Group: AY 2010-11 to 2018-19 in the Philippines based on the Commission on Higher Education statistics.
• “One of the reasons parents send their children to school is to have their children learn new things while maximizing their time doing work that pays. You can imagine that schools deliver education-as-a-service. And some of the time, if not most, learning happens like a transaction. Some learners’ commitment might be half-hearted, thinking that since they were paying for the education they deserve, all they need to do is be served.”
• “Now that most of us have access to the internet, it tells a lot about how schools should change how they deliver information. That instead of throwing information that is readily accessible online, they should stir up the students’ imagination instead. Encouraging them to raise questions and cultivate an environment where peer-to-peer learning is encouraged.”
• “Do not get me wrong. Here in the Philippines, I have seen far-flung schools that do not have access to a stable internet connection. And this is where teachers and books do wonders. But for the rest of the communities that do, schools should continuously evolve from mere regurgitating information available elsewhere to becoming an institution that sparks creativity in learners. Instead of cramming information to the students, the end result of going to school should be a desire to solve problems or create things in the real world. Students should then use the domain knowledge they gained from school to build better communities instead of just making getting high grades the end-goal.”
• “Because most of the time, learning is not limited to the four walls of academia. It happens every day, right here, right now. And learning doesn’t stop after you received your diploma. It is actually just the beginning of a lifelong learning process.”

Check out this episode’s sponsor — Rooted in Christ PH — a non-profit group aiming to share Jesus and His Word, and introduce the Gospel through art. Follow them on Facebook @rootedinchristph to get daily inspirations, insights, and devotionals.