The more specialized and varied the jobs, the richer the economy

Today, we have an electronically networked world that demands new skills of us. A new economy driven by a global workforce is rewriting the rules of survival of the human species, in terms of access to biotic and abiotic resources and their utilization. The need for a new version of a school that will equip us with suitable tools to survive this new economy is sorely felt.

According to Jeff Sachs, author of The End of Poverty, the more specialized and varied the jobs, the richer the economy. If we were to take that as a guideline to see how we can connect people with what they need to learn so that we can provide a wide spectrum of jobs, we hit a new wall - the relative value of a job based on the demand/supply rule and the "niche" that determines the monetary value of work compensation...

India has been the home for many educational models. From the oldest Gurukula system to monasteries, from state-funded madarsas under Islamic rule to missionary colleges, from village schools to universities, there have been several streams and philosophies that have intertwined and created a unique amalgam of school designs. Bold experiments by great thinkers such as Swami Dayanada Saraswati, Sri Aurobindo and J. Krishnamurthy have essayed new ideas in education. The apprenticeship in many trades has also been kept alive for centuries to ensure proper transfer of knowledge from one generation to another.

The people of India have survived for centuries despite hostile economic and political conditions owing to this faithful transference of knowledge. That is one great asset that we have - hopefully it is not too late. Now, it is a matter of legitimizing that knowledge source in a formal manner...March 10, 2007 Blokesablogin Blokes aka Meenakshi enjoys writing along with being a mom, a school teacher, a musician and an Art of Living teacher (of meditation and breathing) Like this article? + del.icio.us