What could be lovelier than a morning full of happy children on their way to school? In another era, perhaps. But why do the children look so unhappy? Is it simply because they have to wake up early? Of course not. Children are like this because they attend a school that has stood still for many years and does not keep up with developments, especially in the field of technology. The school in its current form has its roots in the early industrial revolution, when society had to feed hundreds of factories with a workforce at any cost, so long as it could put in its shift and obey the rules of the market.

A School Stuck in the Past

Classes, sections, smaller sections… what does all of this remind me of? So many decades later, and little has changed. But what should be different? The tablets? The boards? The markers? Unfortunately, everything. Everything connected with education, from the schools to the teachers, from subjects such as empathy and history taught through cinema, to the way children are assessed. The idea of education adapted to the needs and abilities of each student has been highlighted in many scientific studies. The capacity of the educational process to adapt to each individual learner improves both learning and the achievement of academic goals (Dweck, 2006).

A society cannot simply wait for change to fall from the sky, as if it were hard to imagine that today’s children will be tomorrow’s citizens, and that the higher the level of education, the higher the level of our future society will be.

Encouraging Every Talent

The school of the 21st century should encourage every individuality and talent, rather than stifling them on the altar of the collective. As Einstein said, “Put a fish to climb a tree and it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid.” And so the decades pass, with everything remaining the same and unchanged.

From a child’s first steps we should be helping them discover their temperament early, within schools that act as sources of stimulation, where teachers are the children’s eyes onto knowledge of every kind. Strengthening intercultural understanding and communication in the educational environment has emerged as an important factor for building social cohesion and avoiding discrimination (Banks, 2015). Teaching that encourages creativity and the development of critical thinking has proven fundamental for solving problems and fostering innovation (Robinson, 2011). The integration of technology into the educational process has proven to be not only a tool for improving learning, but also a means of developing the digital skills demanded by modern society (Means et al., 2009). Of course, all of this would cost money, but it is worth it: gardens, courtyards full of flowers, fields of every kind, cinemas, theatres, workshops, vans so that some hours can be spent out in the countryside under the sun, and so much more.

A New Secondary Education

When children are ready at the end of this new primary education, they could move on to an equally new secondary education. There could be schools for our musicians, schools for our athletes, schools for our scientists, schools for our farmers, with selection of students so well targeted that no child feels alone in this micro-society, nor even feels they are heading somewhere for something they do not want.

In the end, some steps have already been taken, but they are very small. There are schools for musicians, as an exception to the rule, unfortunately. The neighbourhood school as a concept, like the neighbourhood supermarket, would no longer exist. Our children are the most precious thing we have, and they should attend the school that is most precious to them, cut and sewn for their own temperament and personality, whether it is one kilometre away or ten.

The Cost, and the Return

And here comes the only obstacle to all of this: the cost. Someone might ask, “But where will so much money be found? How will all of this happen?” According to various research studies, the return to the economy for every dollar invested in education is significant. One of the most widely cited estimates is that every dollar invested in preschool education can be returned many times over in the future, through higher incomes and reduced spending on social services. Another estimate holds that for every dollar invested in education, the economy can recover up to $10 in the future through increased productivity and the minimisation of social burdens (Heckman et al., 2010). Other studies note that investment in education has broader economic effects, such as higher employment, lower unemployment, and the growth of social capital (OECD, 2019). Overall, investments in education are considered both efficient and effective for economic development and social welfare.

For a society to deliberate so heavily over whether to invest in education, I do not know what hope it can hold, what value a little green paper can carry against a child’s smile that, a few years later, will create the very different society we have longed for all these years.