Buzzwords, Banners & Broken Promises: When 21st Century Learning Becomes a Slogan
Walk into almost any school open day or browse through its website, and you’ll likely see the familiar phrases: “Future-ready.” “21st-century skills.” “Inquiry-based learning.” Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? But scratch beneath the surface, and you'll often find a very different reality; one where students are still locked into rigid timetables, textbook-driven lessons, and standardised assessments that haven’t changed in decades. We’re talking about a system still built on compliance, not creativity. Standardised Schooling: A Model from a Different Era Let’s be honest, standardised education was never designed for innovation. It was built for efficiency, for uniformity, for preparing children to follow instructions, not to ask big questions or navigate complexity. This model: Teaches to...