Esther Wojcicki teaches at a secondary school in Palo Alto, USA. She rejected traditional teaching guidelines when she began teaching: lessons and tests on Fridays were not part of this education specialist's curriculum. “If I read an essay on swimming, does that mean I'm going to be capable of diving into a pool and start swimming once I've finished it?”
The American teacher, the central figure in the second episode of the documentary series “Inspirando o Futuro – SingularityU Portugal”, says that traditional teaching has been in place for hundreds of years. However, in a time of such great change, teaching also needs to adapt to those with the near future in their hands.
“Today is different. People learn on their mobile phones, YouTube videos and the Khan Academy. We're teaching a generation who are going to change jobs several times in their careers. They can't just be taught to follow instructions, they need to learn in accordance with the world of the 21st century, where the unexpected is what is expected”.
