Of Wise Choices

Choose your education wisely. Learn for this century – not the last, says Kathryn Bindon, Ph.D. – Director, The Takatuf Scholars Programme, Takatuf Oman LLC

 

The pace of change in this century is exciting, daunting, challenging and all too real. It is unforgiving and does not wait for those who choose not to understand or act upon the differences, just as the many tracks of interrelated change offer opportunities for leadership and signal success to those who embrace them. This is true for both individuals and nation states, and is critically important when it comes to thinking about education.

The ‘information age’, the ‘global knowledge economy’, the ‘global marketplace’ and ‘internationalisation’ are not all the same things, but they are all part of the 21st century mix that needs globally educated citizens in all sectors of society and at all levels of economic and social endeavour. In this context, you must become a wise consumer of your educational choices and options.

For many, especially in the world’s younger educational systems, the prevailing concept of ‘education’ is that it is all about a credential that in some way allows you to successfully ‘pass’ to the next year of institutional learning, or to the next year of your life. The credential, in this scenario, validates that you have acquired what you need to know. Yet this, too, has changed in this century, and your diploma or degree affirms that you possess a very small part of the skills and abilities you require to become a fully engaged and productive citizen.