Reading comments on Youth and Development
The most exciting readings for me are the reading on redefining education in the developing world, and this is mainly because I can relate more to it.
When I was in my 3rd year in college, a colleague asked me a question that “what if we eventually finish this statistics degree, where do you think I can work or what role do you think I can fit into?” I tried to explain the choices she has a statistician to her, and at the end of the short chat, she understands more though that does not in any way mean that she will be able to apply what she learnt in school at the job place.
Just like her, she is one out of millions of graduates that are produced in developing countries, not that these guys are not brilliant or not bright, it is sad that just as the author of this paper explained, the traditional definition of school in developing world is based on content mastery” and for this reason, it is not surprising to find a cum laude student of physics who cannot construct nor operate an Arduino or a circuit.
The author further explained that for too long, governments and organizations investing in developing-world education have operated under the unquestioned assumption that improved test scores were clear evidence that their investments have paid off. But if, as we argue here, mastery of the basic primary school curriculum is not the best means for improving life chances and alleviating poverty in developing countries, that model is broken. Investing in interventions that produce the highest test scores is no longer a valid approach for allocating scarce educational dollars or the scarce time available for the development of young minds. It is time to seek out the interventions that lead to the greatest social and economic impact for the poor.
I remember not studying computer science in college mainly because I know I will only know what Java is – which is cool, but sadly I might not know how to write a program in Java.
I am an advocate of a good practicable education that teaches people to solve problems rather than cramming; I prefer technical education to formal one because I love to create and sometimes, break the rules. Not because I wanted to break them, but just because I believe we learn when we try out a new way of doing things.
Just as the intervention by the writer suggests, I am also thinking of massive capacity building in the future which I know problem-solving approach schooling will be a core part of my model.