Education is useless if it leads to unhappy lives

Education is useless if it leads to unhappy lives

(Bangkok Post file photo)
(Bangkok Post file photo)

For me, the biggest challenge of our education systems is that we fail to prepare our children for life. With all their tests and exams, crowded timetables, homework overload and overwhelming requirements in exams, schools prepare students for universities, but not for life. Graduates might in theory be experts in algebra and cell systems, but they don't have self-confidence, nor goals, nor practical skills, and are scared of their own future. They are far too often unhappy with themselves, constantly under pressure and unable to build strong relationships with others.

Keep in mind, your children were born with a different attitude. Remember your toddlers: they wanted to do everything by themselves (I can do it!), were creative little artists, asked a million questions and were keen learners. What killed these wonderful habits?

I believe the main reason is that, we parents and school teachers train children to become followers -- to follow all kinds of often non-relevant instructions, to do exactly as they are told, and to spend lots of time with us in irrelevant assigned tasks. As a result they don't have enough time to play or to chill. They are praised if they precisely follow, and punished if they don't.

Under these education practices, which we emphasise more and more in place of reform, we experience societies with broken systems of politics, health-care, environment, finance, management and media, where people don't think or do what they feel is right, but what they have learned: to passively follow.

Politicians and other decision-makers are aware of these and many other criticisms of education in schools and universities, but often they are either inexperienced, too slow or too complacent to make the necessary drastic changes. They know that in the age of AI and other fast-advancing technologies, our kids need a different preparation for life than a dominant focus on academics and the near complete shunning of so-called soft skills. If people are not strong in interpersonal skills, work ethic, problem-solving, communication, teamwork, and don't understand when to be flexible and adapt, what will differentiate us from robots? What will be left over for us humans to do, when robots and computers take over our jobs? And how will we humans be able to live in harmony with each other and in happiness, if schools focus constantly on knowledge and don't teach human values and skills?

In Asia people still cling to the old British A-level system, instead of leaning more towards reformed education practices offered by Scandinavia or Canada. So-called tiger moms and career dads hope their children get into Ivy League universities right from the time kids are in kindergarten. They push their kids to extremes far too early, totally ignoring their emotional and physical well-being. That leads to psychological breakdowns, stress, burnouts, depression and to suicide rates as high as 1 per 100,000 students in some countries. We know that when you keep criticising and pushing your kids, they don't stop loving you, they stop loving themselves!

When we see on a daily basis, all over the world, that far too many adults are not happy, that they don't enjoy their work, live in unharmonious relationships, drink, smoke or take drugs of all kinds, why are we not alarmed? We cannot blame the education system alone for all these developments, but I am convinced, that societies which still operate education systems from the 18th century, societies which focus mainly on hierarchy, wealth, social status and financial profit, will not be able to make the necessary changes to halt the undesirable developments.


Philipp Graf von Hardenberg, PhD, chairman & president of Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort Phuket and Thanyapura World Pte Ltd Singapore, chairman of United World College Thailand (UWCT) and founder of Yaowawit School Kapong.

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