Challenges for Educators in 21st Century
Education has been going on and on for centuries. However, I believe that this 21st marks the most critical moment for humanity to rethink and reproach our own educational system. Why is that? because if Karl Marx said that history is the hitherto of Class struggle, which means the struggling among classes within humanity (e.g. Poor vs. Rich or bourgeoisie vs proletariat) defines the trajectory of human history, then the struggle in the 21st century will not be between classes among humanity but between species a.k.a. human versus Artificial Intelligent (AI). I know that might sound sci-fiction, but because of the abundance of data possessed by scientist today, we are capable of dissecting, hacking and even recreating parts of our bodies. The AI is the new species born from our own hand. Then if we have to compete against AI then today education for the human being should be reconsidered.
Source: www.dunebook.com
We learn from centuries of mankind history that in the middle age, people were struggling to possess lands. When there so many land was held by only certain elites, the humanity interaction was run by Feudalism and people class was divided into Landlord and Slave at the extreme point. Education, crudely speaking at the time, was only limited to the elite class and the purpose of education was to learn to protect and to rule the land.
source:http://history-world.org
After industrial revolution since the end of 18th century, there were so many means of production. This situation divided humanity into—in Marxist Term—bourgeoisie and proletariat. Those who own the means of production became the bourgeoisie class while those who work or working-class people, regarded collectively became proletariat. The elite class concerns about their economy materialism and hedonism and to uphold the political and economic interest of the capitalist ruling class. Such condition created the purposes of Education in the century as to create an industrial society, which to create skills labors needed to enlarge and extend the production. This kind of educational model is still running up until now. The educators concern more about the skills that you have and what can you produce using the skills.
source: https://i.pinimg.com
However, in the near future, most basic human skills will soon be replaced by artificial intelligence in the sense that machine will do most of the human’s work. The cutting-edge development of technology nowadays has been so effective and inventive that we are able to create human parts biologically and also artificially. The discussion among decision-makers now is not about when this is going to happen but is it ethical to replace a human being with a machine. The effect of such policy will be most jobs today will disappear within decades. When such condition happens, then a new class will emerge by 2050 what Yuval Noah Harari called “useless class”, people who are not just unemployed, but unemployable.
source:www.theguardian.com
The big question, therefore, occurs to us as educators, What kind of educational model should we employ hence we can create new jobs that human perform much better than algorithms? what should we teach to students which make them distinct from the artificial intelligent (AI)? Because If what we are teaching to students now is only information, then AI will definitely be smarter and faster than us.
Responding to this condition, Jack Ma, one of the richest people, has suggestions for us. He suggested that we have to change the way we teach today because today educational system has been the same since 200 years ago. We need to start teaching things that AI can’t teach us. Those are values. I do agree with him, AI may tell us we are lying or not, but they can’t really teach us the value of honesty. AI can elaborate us what is the emotional quotation is but they cannot teach and show us how to master it. Hence in order to survive the great future struggle between species we need to start altering our ways and material of teaching.