Originally posted on LinkedIn
If we want to be more productive as a country, we need to change these things in education:
1️⃣ Stop selling unrealistic dreams. 2️⃣ Focus on problem-solvers, not encyclopedias. 3️⃣ BEING above KNOWING.
1 - Be realistic about expectations and exit paths.
The reality is that some skills are in high demand. Others are barely needed at all.
We need to make these statistics visible and available to recent high school graduates, and use them as guides for K-12 curricula. We need to show that going to university isn’t the only path — it’s great for some dreams, useless for others.
2 - Build the capacity to solve problems.
The obsession with standardized tests leads to more memorization and less adaptability. Doing well on PISA/ICFES matters — yes. But what matters more is open-ended problems that build the ability to SOLVE. Project-Based Learning is the way — no need to reinvent the wheel.
3 - More self-knowledge, more empathy, emotional intelligence, values, and ethics.
This stuff should be woven into daily life — not crammed into a one-hour class per week. KNOWING is increasingly irrelevant — the information is online.
Too many of the system’s incentives work against this — from kindergarten all the way to higher education. Real change requires not just institutional will, but legislative and social shifts too.