The SchoolsCompared.com Interview. ‘Bob Dylan, The Future of Education and Not Trading Away Kindness for Cynicism.’ Dr Saima Rana On The Record.

~

“Open Seas, University, Falling in Love and AI”

~

Dr Saima Rana: Educators must open doors and gates wherever, and whenever, they can – but the decisions which to choose, and whether to go through them, must be decided by students.

SchoolsCompared.com: Should every student go to university? Today, many young people are going tens of thousands of $/£/AED into debt to attend university. Is it worth it when degrees are now so commonplace? Increasingly, employers are turning away from degrees as “everyone has them”, and instead looking to recruit the brightest and best direct from school. Should industry be doing more to employ young people at 18 years and give them learning opportunities whilst they earn? Can GEMS help to create Degree Apprenticeships in the UAE?

Dr Saima Rana, CEO/Principal, GEMS World Academy; Chief Education Officer, GEMS Education; and, Chief Education Ambassador, The Varkey Foundation:

Education is about forging choice for all. This is important and often overlooked. Why do we want every student to have a great education, to have minds, hearts, spirits, and bodies educated to the best they can be? So that the student is empowered. So that they are able to assess their world and themselves and everything and choose to be what they want to be and do what they want to do. Education is a gateway: it creates the door through which an individual decides what to do next. So, it follows from this that a student – every student – should be able to go to University if they want to – but that university is but one of many pathways a student can choose. A great education makes it possible for an individual to do what they want – find a job, be a footballer, run a household, invent a gadget, start up a business or charity, travel the world for a period, fall in love, write a book, act in a film or theatre, paint, write poetry, become an entrepreneur, become a philanthropist, support their families, go to university. I want every individual to be in a good position to make an informed, intelligent choice about where they’re going and what they want to do – and am always cautious about telling anyone who they should be, what they should do. I want people to be good people, caring and generous, but that doesn’t need a university education – it can be found everywhere, in any walk of life. The world is incredibly complex and complicated, and students need support and guidance but in the end it’s their life and their choice. All schools should be doing is ensuring that no gates are closed to them so that they have as wide a set of choices as possible.

SchoolsCompared.com: AI is amazing. Today, it is almost impossible to know whether you are speaking with a human or a machine. AI knows more than any individuals can. Do we need to be worried? If AI does so many things, we needed humans for, better, what is the implication for students growing up today? What do we need to do in schools to help them navigate, and survive this new world? What is the point of human beings – what are we for? What is the point of us? What does AI not have that we do, and how does this read back into schools and what we must do for children?

Dr Saima Rana, CEO/Principal, GEMS World Academy; Chief Education Officer, GEMS Education; and, Chief Education Ambassador, The Varkey Foundation:

AI is just one of the many things that make employment opportunities and the future of work difficult to predict but as a techno enthusiast who has spent some time looking hard at this issue I want to say that each time a new technology comes along the unknown future that beckons because of the predicted impact of such innovation is always, always, met with two opposing reactions. There are always people who see nothing but a bright new world where everything is fine and the transition to the future world is smooth and easy. And there are always those who see nothing but doom and gloom and hopelessness. We saw this when printing was invented way back in the 16th century, we saw it when electricity was invented, steam engines, the motor car, radio, TV, computers and now AI. My assessment is that these are great inventions, amazing tools and that there will be huge changes ahead – but as in the past, along with the disruption to current employment there will be new opportunities, new ways of doing things. This is why we need to educate people so that we grasp our history, understand our inventions, comprehend the economics, sociology, the science, the art, and the politics of such innovations. Education helps offset those fears based on ignorance and exaggerated claims. It allows us to assess rationally and critically claims that are made and come to our own conclusions. It respects expertise and sees through snake-oil charlatans who just want to make us afraid or mindlessly buy their optimism. Schools build hope in their students through learning how to be a critical thinker about all these things and give students what they need to be fearless in the face of change and risk. Schools help us to be emotionally literate (and so help to resist the hysterias of extreme pessimism or extreme optimism) and knowledgeable so that students can assess things and not panic. Minds, hearts, spirits, and bodies – like I keep saying – this holistic approach is directly relevant to all the issues we face.

Return to contents page: click here.

NEXT Chapter: Bob Dylan, Sunny Varkey, The Silver Bullet and A Blueprint for Hope