Fourth Industrial Revolution, Are We Ready?

          Education responds to the fast-paced changes in our society. There are several changes and developments that take place over time. The first industrial revolution began with mechanization, which saw an increase in manufacturing and agricultural productivity, followed by massification, which saw factory production powered by electricity. The third revolution is automation and digitalization, which…


          Education responds to the fast-paced changes in our society. There are several changes and developments that take place over time. The first industrial revolution began with mechanization, which saw an increase in manufacturing and agricultural productivity, followed by massification, which saw factory production powered by electricity. The third revolution is automation and digitalization, which is a new discovery of computers and information technology. Artificial intelligence, robotics, enhanced communications and computations and the like are all part of the smartization and digitalization, also known as Fourth Industrial Revolution.

          In the Philippines’ current condition of education, I believe we are not yet prepared to meet the needs of Fourth Industrial Revolution. Many elements, including teachers’ approaches, learners’ readiness and the resources to be used, still need to improve. We still have a lot of work to do in order to meet our society’s developing needs. We all know that as they study, students are more engaged and open to new technology. They may easily utilize their gadgets to search the internet for information on the issue they are interested in. In addition, there are several jobs that may be rapidly supplanted by new technologies in the future. If we go beyond time, we may conclude that robots can take over certain human jobs. As a result, we must prepare our students for an independent education based on a technological approach, in which they will have direct access to a range of various information sources and will be able to apply such technologies in their daily lives.

Students will be able to thrive in a world where change is constant and learning does not stop. Our students’ learning will be fruitless if they are hesitant to take risks, take responsibilities and make mistakes. To avoid this, we must assist them to develop self-confidence and explicitly explain that mistakes are evidence of their hard work. We must prepare them to be globally competitive, technologically literate and effective communicators in the future. We should provide specific activities that will help our students develop creative intelligence, social intelligence, and manipulative skills in order to prepare them for future professions. We must then be taught how to be makers with a range of tools by putting our students’ problem-solving skills and curiosity to the test. In this way, our students can produce viable solutions and excellent outcomes.

By: Rosalie M. Cabuang|Teacher I|Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School|Balanga City,Bataan