Most Likely to Succeed Book Summary, by Tony Wagner, Ted Dintersmith

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Overview

Many schools today use the same old methods of teaching, where students memorize and regurgitate information. In an age when most workers only need to know how to do one thing over and over again, that may be sufficient. But in a world of constant innovation, new approaches are needed for education.

The education system should be revamped to fit the needs of today’s economy. We shouldn’t focus on teaching students what to learn, but rather how they can learn. This will help them in their future endeavors and make them more creative and adaptable.

In this article, you will learn about the history of apprenticeships in Prussia and the United States. You’ll also find out how Napoleon’s military campaigns led to mandatory education for children in those countries. Also, you’ll discover a new method of learning called ConcepTest that is helping Harvard students think critically.

Big Idea #1: The US education system leaves people unsuccessful, unhappy and uninformed.

When you were fresh out of college, did you have any difficulty finding a fulfilling job? Did you quickly climb the career ladder without encountering any obstacles?

The US education system isn’t great at preparing students for their careers.

If you believe otherwise, look at the data—

A Gallup study found that American business leaders believe colleges don’t prepare students for the workplace. Over half of recent college graduates are either unemployed or in jobs they could have done without a pricey university education.

The education system is not just failing to produce graduates who are ready for the workforce, but it’s also failing to create informed citizens.

A study found that people who vote most often are the ones with the least amount of knowledge about issues concerning politics. They could only answer 20 percent of questions correctly on topics such as government spending and climate change.

Finally, our current education system is not working. Consider the teen suicide rate; it has doubled since 1950 for college-aged students and tripled for high schoolers.

The education system is broken, but society still values a college degree. This makes sense, given that 94 percent of Americans think it’s important for their kids to go to college.

There is a lot of emphasis on standardized tests, but they seem to do more harm than good. We need to look at why we have them and where they came from in order to understand their purpose.

Big Idea #2: Education began with a meaningful apprenticeship model, but changed as society became more religious.

In the early days of humankind, our ancestors taught each other how to survive. In this system, parents would educate their children on skills that were necessary for survival.

In a way, the apprenticeship system was the beginning of education in which students learned by doing and were taught by a master. However, as society evolved, this changed along with it. Soon, education gained more importance than credentials alone because tradesmen like farmers and blacksmiths became important to society. In this changing world, masters’ reputations became their students’ credentials.

How Do Credentials Work?

Well, let’s say Mr. X is a blacksmith and he has excellent reputation for being an expert craftsman. It’s safe to assume that his apprentices will also be good at what they do because of the quality of training they received from him. Also, Mr. X will have a lot to lose if his apprentices fail to master their craft since it would reflect badly on his own reputation as well; this means that he’ll try hard not to hire any bad apprentices in the first place. This system can be seen as an incentive for people like Mr. X who are willing to take up apprentices so that they can pass on their skills and knowledge along with getting high-quality work done by them in return – all without having to pay any money upfront! Over time, religion came into play more often when it came down to how society was run and its institutions were set up which meant more children began attending schools instead of becoming apprentices or even working under someone else in a trade or profession (which could lead them away from God). As such, there was greater demand for Bibles during this period than ever before which led people like William Tyndale (who translated the Bible into English) out there trying their best at making sure everyone got access to it despite suppression by the church.

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Most Likely to Succeed Book Summary, by Tony Wagner, Ted Dintersmith