Competition Vs. collaboration: which will get you further in the future?
5 July 2021 — Written by Arpit Chhikara
What do you think will matter in future jobs - competition or collaboration? Well, if you ask someone who comes from a traditional education background, they will say competition. On the other hand, students who pursue liberal education in India and abroad pay attention to collaboration. The difference is what separates these two schools of thought (pun intended, of course).
A classroom is a place where a number of students come together to learn. As the number of students rises, teachers aren’t able to focus on a student as an individual. Add to that the pedagogical pressure to deliver the curriculum and seek results, and you get the model of education prevalent around us. Not to mention, outdated career advice which doesn’t connect with the millennials. In liberal education, we follow an interdisciplinary approach and heutagogy at Beyond 8. This allows us to have a student-centric curriculum based on their needs, goals and natural inclinations. Because of this, the following happens in the classroom.
In a typical classroom, there’s old-school networking taking place. It means that kids get to interact with other kids who are almost like them until they choose a different career trajectory in college. But in a liberal arts classroom, we have students from all walks of life. The ones who have economics as their optional subject study with the ones who live and breathe in images. This brings diversity of thought and leads to significant cultural exchange of ideas - the essence of interdisciplinary approach. Someone from a biology background sits next to a musician and together they make a digital tool which helps people exercise better by listening to certain brain-relaxing rhythms and beats. Remarkable, right? Moreover, when every student is different, they all want to know each other. This leads to a much more inclusive networking. The kind where connections are built with people who vary in their skill sets, experiences and interests. Welcome to the 21st century way of learning and networking that millennials are engaging in.
What is the way ahead? Liberal education
An education in the liberal arts equips students with a lot of useful knowledge. Traditional career advice focused on training students to compete without realizing that the future of jobs is all about collaboration. Students pursuing a liberal education graduate with a high degree of confidence to solve problems which require complex solutions. We at Beyond 8 strengthen the foundational knowledge of the same in 9-12 graders so that they have the best college options after school. To know more, get in touch with us at contact@beyond8.in and let’s together shape the future of your child’s dreams.