Hello, and welcome to The Deep Dive—a weekly close-up look at an idea, issue or trend that's shaping Asia's future. We’re happy to have you with us. Please send your comments, questions and favourite online classes to editor@generationt.asia.
Gaokao. A-Levels. Le Bac. Suneung. Center Test.
Take your pick. We dedicate our entire childhood educations working towards our respective standardised tests, hoping that maybe if we ace them, we’ll get to spend our entire life savings on an Ivy League education.
But are these traditional academic paths really preparing us for the future?
Technology has completely disrupted education (are you sick of that word yet?). On one hand, education has never been so accessible. In 1820, only 12 percent of the world was literate. Now, only 17 percent remains illiterate. The Internet is ubiquitous, opportunities abound, and knowledge is at the tip of our fingers. All we need to do is ask.
On the other hand, we’ve reached our a critical juncture: what are we going to do with that information?
No amount of rote memorisation is going to stop artificial intelligence from upending the job market. Why prepare a study guide for an exam when thousands already exist online? Why spend a semester learning a subject when you can do it in one month? How do we prepare for such an uncertain future?
Around the world, schools are trying to answer these questions, and reassessing and restructuring their curriculums and values. Do we swap our children’s colouring books for coding ones? Do we even bother to compete with robots, or should we just hone what no machine can match: our humanity?
Let's take a Deep Dive. Maybe Google will know.
QUOTABLE
“In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity—it is a prerequisite.”
— Barack Obama, former President of the United States of America
BY THE NUMBERS
20%
Even as China roars ahead with technological development, many families are still new to the notion of college and sending children to universities for the first time. And enrollment has surged. In 2017, 37.8 million college students enrolled in college, over a 20 percent jump from 2010.
35
Every year, more than half a million students across South Korea sit to take the infamous Suneung, an eight-hour standardised exam that tests 12 years of schooling. To ensure maximum concentration, all construction works and flights are called off for the 35-minute duration of the English listening comprehension test.
10
Development and agriculture has led to major deforestation across the Philippines. To combat a significant loss in trees and foster environmentalism in school, the Philippines is now requiring every student to plant 10 trees in order to graduate.
Wealthy Asian families have a history of sending their children to elite boarding schools in England. Now, the schools are coming to Asia. In partnership with Hong Kong Melodious Education Technology Group, Britain's elite Westminster school will open a Chengdu offshoot in September 2020 for 2,500 students aged of 3 to 18. Another 10 schools are slated to open across China in the next decade, which means Westminster will be teaching 20 times more children in China than in London.
THE EDIT
5 Stories To Get You Up To Speed
Are Southeast Asia’s Education Systems Preparing Workers For The Future? Asian Correspondent
Does China Have Anything To Fear From Foreign Universities? Not Exactly TIME
Welcome to College. Your Parents Are In The Tents Next Door. The New York Times
In An Age Of Robots, Schools Are Teaching Our Children To Be Redundant The Guardian
Colleges Grapple With Teaching The Technology And Ethics Of AI The New York Times
DIVE DEEPER
FEATURE
Why China Is Becoming The First Education Superpower
Countries are exploring new curricula to prepare children for a future that has never been more uncertain
Average Parental Spending on Children's Education Around the World
According to an HSBC report, Hong Kong parents spend more than three times the global average of $44,221 on their children's education, from primary school to undergraduate. Over 8,400 parents across 15 countries and territories were surveyed.
Source: HSBC
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Creating new models of teaching
The Environmentalist The Green School Bali
While many schools forge ahead with technological advancements, the Green School Bali takes a different approach: sustainability. Co-founded by jewellery designer John Hardy, the Green School is a private school located in central Bali that focuses on solving environmental and social issues. Designed by the same firm behind the London Olympics opening ceremony and rock band U2's stage sets, the Green School has skyrocketed in popularity for its innovative, community-based approach to education. It’s produced change makers such as Gen.T honourees, Melati and Isabel Wijsen, and will open a new branch in New Zealand in 2020.
The Smart Teacher Master Learner
Teachers spend hours grading papers and learning the gaps in their students’ understanding. With an AI-enabled education program called Master Learner, that can be done in real time. Co-founder and CEO Zhang Kailei hopes that the platform will personalise education, increase students’ access to learning and streamline efficiency. Developed by 300 engineers, the Shanghai-based startup has a valuation of more than US$100 million.
The Digital Bridge VIPKid
With Beijing-based VIPKid, founder and CEO Cindy Mi is transforming global education. VIPKid is an online learning service that connects some 60,000 English teachers with students in China and 35 other countries. The platform, which provides 180,000 lessons a day, marries the demand of middle class Chinese families who want their children to learn English with the supply of teachers with preference for freelance life and the need for some extra cash. With backers including Coatue Management, Tencent, Sequoia Capital and Yunfeng Capital, the startup was valued at US$3 billion in 2018.
Gen.T Spotlight
Honourees To Follow
James Centenera Centenera is the CEO and co-founder of The Ultimate Learning Accelerator (TULA), a chain of after school tutoring centres in the Philippines that teach kids necessary skills for the 21st century. READ MORE
Natalie Chan Chan is the CEO and founder of Hong Kong based OWN Academy, which aims to empower young people so they can take ownership of their learning. READ MORE
Anting Liu After graduating from Princeton University, Anting launched Teach for Taiwan to recruit young graduates from Taiwanese universities to teach in the island’s rural public schools. READ MORE
We know AI can school humans at some tasks, but surely we will always win out in creative endeavours, right? Check out this podcast episode from The Atlantic's Crazy/Genius on your next commute.
