Why do we want to rethink the school system?

Traditional schooling is not the only way to acquire knowledge

The ability to learn and develop is innate, and we should first and foremost rely on human intuition and recognize that all children have the ability to learn and create value.

If we embrace children’s diversity and allow them to continue their intuitive development and support them with love, inspiration and guidance instead of adapting them to a one-size-fits-all system, many individuals and thus society will be strengthened.

We live in a technological world in constant development, and 2/3 of today’s school children get a job that simply does not exist today.
Therefore, we should have confidence in letting children develop naturally in different directions without unidirectional goal guidance.

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We live in 2020 – not in the 19th century industrial society

We have never had better learning opportunities, and the easy availability of information can make the world an educational playground for children and adults, but to maneuver and thrive in this world of opportunities, we need to know ourselves. Our innate and individual skills need to be nurtured and cultivated, and we need to learn to take advantage of the surrounding technology instead of abusing it.

The stress epidemic we are experiencing in large parts of the world and the amount of stress, depression and anxiety in the traditional school systems is gradually making the school look like an obstacle more than a transit for a balanced and happy life. To help both children and society, the traditional school system should therefore be transformed as soon as possible.

Do you want to help children & society?

We live in 2020 – not in the 19th century industrial society

We have never had better learning opportunities, and the easy availability of information can make the world an educational playground for children and adults, but to maneuver and thrive in this world of opportunities, we need to know ourselves. Our innate and individual skills need to be nurtured and cultivated, and we need to learn to take advantage of the surrounding technology instead of abusing it.

The stress epidemic we are experiencing in large parts of the world and the amount of stress, depression and anxiety in the traditional school systems is gradually making the school look like an obstacle more than a transit for a balanced and happy life. To help both children and society, the traditional school system should therefore be transformed as soon as possible.

Do you want to help children & society?

Why does Learning Mission exist?

I spent 14 years in the school system and the years were filled with unnecessary defeats. I never got to know myself and my strengths, and wondered at the lack of confidence in my own abilities.

I tried but in vain to get help, both my teachers and parents ordered me, in the best faith, to do my homework, put my self-taught learning approach on the shelf, and continue in school.
As a teenager, I was so exhausted that my dad had to wake me up by splashing cold water in my face every morning, as I could not wake up on my own.

Later, I received a medical certificate defending my physical and mental absence and giving me a some slack with the teachers. I therefore completed high school with sleep problems, written warnings, useless grades, and a deep sense of inadequacy.

Read more about Mads and the team behind Learning Mission

Fitting in is not always a good thing

By adapting all children through traditional learning principles at a predetermined pace, their innate characteristics and individual driving forces are limited.

In addition, all children are assessed on the basis of the same measurements. When we are reprimanded for not keeping up with the class, we adapt instinctively, and this constant monitoring and lack of influence can hamper our relational skills and creativity. We are all different and therefore standardized measurements are neither fair to students nor teachers.

If you want to know more about why we want to revolutionize the school system and the way we learn, you can read more below.

The importance of creativity

Does school kill creativity? It is an important and relevant question and also the title of the most watched TED Talk of all time. The video went viral because of the good delivery of Ken Robinson, but even more so because of its precise critique of our society.

A comprehensive creativity study, spanning 17 years, shows that almost all children are born with a high level of creativity. In early childhood, this innate trait is used in our natural development when we learn to move, communicate, and explore the world, but this intuitive developmental process is hindered for most children when they become trapped in the traditional school system.

At the same time, the study shows that if you are educated in the traditional school system, your imagination and imagination will most likely be significantly weakened.

In the study, 98% of 5-year-olds were at a creative genius level before starting school, while only 2% of educated 25-year-olds were at the same creative genius level.

Dissatisfaction in primary school

A large number of studies indicate that Danish school children are increasingly unhappy and have problems with their mental health. The number of school children suffering from anxiety, depression, stress, ADHD and other mental disorders has never been higher. The problem has grown as creativity has become more important and our society and the environment of children and young people have been rapidly changing, while the school system has maintained its learning principles dating back to the 19th century.

The Danish primary and lower secondary school has now experienced a decline in the number of pupils 12 years in a row, while the number of children in home, private and independent schools has increased at the same time. We are in the midst of a school crisis and it is not initiated on purpose or caused by individuals.

The crisis has developed slowly and is comprehensive and systematic, which is why we should address it as a society.

The origin of the school system

If we want to understand why children are schooled away from creativity and other innate qualities, and why the school crisis has taken root in many countries, we need to understand why we initially implemented the traditional school system worldwide. A disciplinary tool developed and implemented worldwide during the First Industrial Revolution.

The system was designed to create manageable workers who could perform monotonous factory and assembly line work that required neither creativity nor curiosity. This kind of work has created today’s society, but has since slowed down and even faster since the Internet revolutionized the world.

The traditional school system has three characteristic learning principles: unidirectional teaching through standardized measurements, compulsory learning of knowledge and a predetermined pace of development through established schedules.

The last 30 generations have learned through these principles, and the time has come to rethink them

The most important skill in 2020

We have never had easier and faster access to information, and awareness of our own strengths, weaknesses and energy sources is particularly important for learning and maneuvering in this world of technology and opportunities.

Self-awareness is the key characteristic of the century, and it can basically be divided into four elements that make development and learning simple for everyone:

  • Knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses
  • Knowledge of your energy sources
  • Development of your relationship skills
  • Understanding your brain chemistry

By knowing your strengths, weaknesses and energy sources, you gain profits and develop a proactive and positive attitude. By developing your relationship skills, you make friends and a network. And by knowing how one’s brain responds to different activities, one develops self-discipline.

What is the premise of going to school in 2020?

In order to cultivate self-awareness and solve the school crisis, we first need to ask ourselves what the premise is for going to school. If it is to live a meaningful life without stress, we are on the wrong track. Being committed for a decade to learning the same predetermined information at a predetermined pace does not promote self-thinking and creative individuals.

In order for children to thrive on a stable self-esteem, look forward to a happy and balanced life and have a positive impact on the outside world, we should instead help them find their own paths and cultivate their individual strengths and driving forces.

Children do not get anything out of failing in standardized measurements. Instead, we must allow them to explore and fail in self-determined and expectant activities in a safe and inspiring environment.

How do we transform the school system?