Our education system was perfectly designed…to prepare workers for routine jobs that no longer exist. As we try to out-drill and out-test Korea we are leaving millions of young adults ill-prepared, uninspired and lacking the skills they need to thrive in an innovation economy.
That’s message of the new documentary Most Likely to Succeed that premiered at Sundance earlier this year. Produced by Greg Whiteley with executive producer Ted Dintersmith, the film explores the dilemma figuring out what type education young people need in our innovation economy through the lens of parent concerned that his daughter is losing her love of learning. Through that journey, leading thinkers from Sir Ken Robinson, to Tony Wagner, to Linda Darling-Hammond share their insights into how we need to transform education to make it work for our students and our world. In addition to looking at schools across the country, the film tells the story of two freshmen at High Tech High in San Diego and their growth throughout the year. You can check out the trailer here.
Though the film tells the story of a few students, it’s about a movement. A movement to transform education. As executive producer Dintersmith shared with Edweek:
What I find shocking is that schools aren’t preparing our kids for life in the 21st Century. Surrounded by innovation, our education system is stuck in the 19th Century. The skills and capabilities our kids need going forward are either ignored or outright trampled.
In sharing that message with the world, the film tells the story of many students who deserve an education that prepares them for the future and the story of the many educators and schools working to try to figure out how to do that. Want to be part of the movement? You can set-up a screening and start the conversation with parents, educators, students in your community. We all should be asking ourselves: How do we transform schools to make them work for kids and our world?