Are We Preparing Students for a World That No Longer Exists?
Are We Preparing Students for a World That No Longer Exists?
I've been spending a good deal of time lately exploring the work of Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith, particularly their thinking around education in the Innovation Era. One observation from Dintersmith has stuck with me: "If a computer can grade it, a computer can do it."
Think about that. For generations, we've built much of our educational system around acquiring information, recalling facts, and demonstrating proficiency on assessments. We celebrate students who excel in these areas, but what happens when the very skills we've spent decades rewarding are increasingly the same skills that artificial intelligence can perform faster and more efficiently than we can?
This isn't to suggest that academic knowledge or excellence no longer matters. Of course it does. But increasingly, the differentiator will be what students can actually do with what they know, particularly when it comes to solving problems, collaborating with others, thinking creatively, and taking initiative.
Dintersmith also makes a compelling argument about the importance of failure and the willingness to be bold. In a world where machines can increasingly handle routine tasks, our students need to become comfortable taking risks, trying new things, and pursuing ideas that might not work. Yet much of our educational system continues to reward students for getting the right answers rather than encouraging them to explore questions without predetermined solutions.
This is one reason I'm increasingly interested in how entrepreneurship can be integrated into traditional academic disciplines. Imagine fourth- or fifth-grade students learning mathematics and then applying those concepts through an actual student-run business. They're calculating costs, setting prices, tracking revenue, and making decisions that have real consequences. Suddenly, mathematics becomes more than an academic exercise; it becomes an essential tool for creating something of value.
And this approach isn't limited to math. There are opportunities across nearly every academic discipline to connect foundational learning with authentic experiences that challenge students to think, create, and act. This is where entrepreneurship becomes far more than an elective or a business course. It becomes a powerful approach to education itself.
For Christian schools, the opportunity is particularly compelling. We're preparing students not simply to find success in a changing world, but to use their God-given gifts to create value and serve others. That's at the heart of how we define entrepreneurship: Anyone who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others.
As we think about the future of education, I believe we need to spend less time asking how well our students can demonstrate what they've learned and more time asking what opportunities we're giving them to put that learning into action.
Are we creating environments where students are encouraged to be bold, take risks, and create something meaningful? Or are we still primarily rewarding them for getting the right answers?
The answer matters, particularly as we prepare students for a world that looks increasingly different from the one we've known.