The third education revolution


The next education revolution is upon us. You may not be aware that there were any revolutions before this one, or even that there’s another one in the process. If you’ve recently graduated from high school or college then maybe you didn’t know that the education system available to you hasn’t always been in place. It’s only in the last 100 years that things have changed, and here’s how.

The first revolution

Back in the early 1900s, the first education revolution took place. This was known as the high school movement, and the clue of what it happened is in the name. High school transformed into an institution for the masses, rather than just a select few. It’s strange to think about, considering high school is now an essential part of everyone’s education. However, back in 1910, only 9% of young people in America were getting a diploma from high school. Twenty-five years later, that figure had risen to 40%, and the youth of the nation were finally getting a better education.

The second revolution

A similar change happened with the second revolution, only this time it was regarding college. During the ‘60s, the Higher Education Act was signed which boosted funding for colleges all over America. More institutions were built across the states, and the variety of courses available increased. In doing this, the number of students enrolling in higher education went from 8.5 million to 20.5 million.

The third revolution

With the way things are in 21st century America, another institution to prolong education in early life would not work. By the time people are graduating from college, they’re in their twenties and ready to start a career – they don’t want to be tied down to more school. That’s why this latest revolution is set to continue a person’s education throughout their life whenever it’s required.
Jobs always adapt and develop, which means that the training you receive now won’t necessarily be relevant a decade down the line. This is particularly pivotal now at a time when technology looks set to overtake millions of jobs. A 2013 study believes that half of the nation’s jobs will be lost to technology over the course of the next twenty years – that’s a lot of people facing unemployment. With this growth in machinery threatening to steal our work, many of us will need to change jobs. Doing this could require training in an industry that we might not be experienced in.

What it aims to achieve

Computers won’t be able to do everything that a human can in the next twenty years, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to carry out most of our duties. The modern worker will need to be skilled in areas that require them to work with technology rather than against it – problem-solving, for instance. This is where training programs need to focus from now on, in order for America to avoid facing even greater levels of unemployment. Moreover, they’ll need to be much more regular than they currently are. A lot can change in a short space of time nowadays, which means that the sooner someone is fully trained, the better it is for everyone.
Colleges have already started to increase their noncredit programs to aid with this, but these changes need to transfer to credit programs. Too often, people look to training programs after the damage has been done and they’re out of a job. As part of this new revolution, higher education establishments need to tackle the problem head-on and provide workers with training before it’s too late. The demand is only going to get worse.
The future is changing a lot quicker than it ever has before. To cope with the pressure that technology will continue to put on jobs, workers need to be able to constantly adapt. That can only happen if the right establishments get behind this new revolution.

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