The Problem
Education is broken. Children are being educated in a system that is little changed both in terms of content and approach from what was created over a hundred years ago during the Industrial Revolution.
Today there is a new revolution going on, a technology revolution, and our children are not being equipped to deal with the challenges and opportunities that this new world presents.
The breakdown exists at every level: in the curriculum and subjects taught; and in the environment in which our children learn, which fails them physically, mentally and emotionally.
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U for more information about the origins of the system we have today.
The Curriculum
There is a shortage of students with fluency in global languages such as Mandarin; a massive shortfall in STEM skills, particularly among girls; and a shortage of key technology skills such as coding.Most schools still teach the same subjects they have always taught, and teach the same way – lecturing to a large group of children in a classroom rather than providing personalized education in a flexible learning environment.
Student Wellbeing
Physically and Mentally – children today suffer from record levels of obesity, attention deficit disorder and other behavioral issues requiring medication.
Their well-being and performance are being impacted by a school day that for teenagers causes acute stress to their bodies.
Most experts agree that food plays a major impact in these problems, some of which, like the percentage of behaviorally changed children, barely existed as a problem fifty years ago.
Emotionally – teenagers deal with an immense amount of hormonal and biological changes which are challenging to deal with at the best of times. Historically, they had family, school and religious institutions to support them, but much of this infrastructure has fallen away, with parents too busy with work; schools reluctant to intervene for fear of causing upset; and religious institutions believing it is best left to parents. The result is teenagers have very little support, at a time when social media is bombarding them and where the world around them has never felt more uncertain.
The result: school violence, significant increases in teenage drink and drug use, truancy and other problems. These problems have also significantly increased in the last fifty years.
We have a school calendar which teaches students for only 170-180 days a year, causing massive educational declines during the summer and significant inefficiencies in learning. This calendar was introduced when children had to work harvesting crops for a large part of the year – now that this is no longer required, why do we use the same calendar?
Asia and the Middle East are spending heavily on educational innovation and are pushing out tens of millions of students who are well equipped and willing to compete with children everywhere else in the World.
The Solution
The founders of TECx Global Academy spent 18 months analyzing schools across the World and based on this analysis and the problems above created a highly innovative educational offering designed for the 21st century that provides a new paradigm for education and development of our children. The first school based on this offering, TECx Austin, will be an 800 student school with a day school and smaller boarding School component, both of which will feed from demographics across Austin, the US and internationally.
For the first time, Students will receive a 21st century education in a futuristic learning environment that makes traditional schools look like dinosaurs: students will not only learn core subjects and STEM, but also receive deep learning in the skills of tomorrow – including coding proficiency, game development, business and entrepreneurship skills, and innovation. These latter skills will be taught by experts in the corporate world, who will integrate corporate thinking, decision making and opportunities into students learning environments. Major corporations will provide personnel, resource, internships and job opportunities to students in the School at every stage. Innovative technology will be pervasive throughout.
This education will be provided in a learning environment that moves beyond the traditional classroom model and focuses on optimal learning techniques individualized for each student, with one on one learning, group learning, and peer led learning. Students will also be supported physically, mentally and emotionally. Enjoying healthy fresh made food, a school day and school year with optimal timing for educational and neural development, and a support network focused on teaching them how to deal with stress, conflict, and challenges.
Each student will have a global outlook and global experience, spending a semester a year in Asia in High School learning mandarin and collaborating with their peers, enjoying travel to Spanish speaking countries and networking with international students who attend the boarding school and the Summer camps.
A graduating student will have unlimited opportunities, to start a business, code, have a high paying job in game development, invent, or can go to any leading University in the World from Cambridge to Harvard, Tokyo to Singapore. With their language skills and global network of friends, mentors and relationships any job in any country will be within reach.