I have some ideas that can be used to increase the level of education of a country.
Build new schools and create classrooms that contain no more than ten children. Teaching 20 to 30 children at once is not efficient. By teaching a lesson to only ten children at once, the speed at which children learn increases by at least 100 per cent.
In a classroom with only ten children, they are more engaged in what the teacher says, it is less noise, and everyone has to pay attention because everyone is seen by the teacher.
Furthermore, the teacher can evaluate every child every two weeks by assessing five children during every class he or she teaches. In this way, even the children in the current education system with bad grades, become as good as those children who get good grades.
This is an investment that is worthwhile because with one change, the people of your country become two times more educated. After a few years of educating people in this way, the results will be a greater increase in economic growth and scientific discoveries for many years to come. This should pay the price of building a few schools in every city many times over.
Create free online courses on maths, biology, physics, chemistry and so on. Make each course in video, PDF and paper format and make all digital materials accessible for download on an official website. Five to ten very good teachers should collaborate in order to make each course as good as possible.
These courses should be equal in quality or even better than the courses, taught at university. Using these courses every citizen will be able to learn on his or her own whatever he or she wishes.
Teach free math courses in every city. Math is the basis for every science. Those who know math can easily learn physics, chemistry and computer science. Math is the common denominator. By learning math, people learn to think logically and rationally. So contrary to popular belief, math can also be useful to those who work in a field that has nothing to do with science.
These math classes would help people of every age. For those who have already finished high school or a university, these courses would serve as a refresher and also to learn new things. They are also useful for those who didn’t learn math well in school and want to study at a university that requires them to know math well, or who want to have a job in a field that requires math.
The courses are also for those who just want to be able to have more abstract and intelligent thoughts. Teach those who participate in the courses to see math as fun. Solving math problems can be as pleasurable as playing chess.
Other areas to focus on in order to be better prepared for the 21st century:
1. Memorising techniques and speed learning. Memorising techniques can increase with at least 50 per cent the speed at which a child memorises material. A secondary effect of this fact is that the child will be motivated to learn more and better because he or she feels more in control when learning new material and can learn easier.
2. Nutrition. Children should learn essential things about nutrition so that throughout their lives, they don’t try diets that are harmful to their health. All children should learn the nutrients contained in foods and in what quantities, the daily nutritional requirements of the human body, and the effects of consuming too little or too many calories.
3. Fast typing. In the next 40 years, almost every person alive will be able to use a computer and everyone will have at least one computer at home. There are methods of typing that allow you, with only a few hours a week, to become extremely fast at typing. You will be able to type much faster than by using the traditional method. You will also be typing without mistakes and without looking at the keyboard.
4. A new subject to study in school dedicated only to helping a child develop his or her ability to learn new subjects without supervision. Every field changes very fast and we are required to learn a lot of new things throughout our lives. What we learn in school can become obsolete after 20 to 30 years after we graduate.
Because no one goes back to high school to learn the new things that are added to the curricula, people have to be able to learn alone what they need to learn.
5. Public speaking.
– JACK MILLER
