Yuval Harari, a historian and futurist, argued in his book "Homo Deus" that in a human world trying to become God, "change is the only constant of the future." Today's world, changing day by day, can be described as having grown remarkably, almost unrecognizable, even though it has not been long since the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the cradle of advanced science and technology. It is difficult to measure the end of our imagination as to how advanced science and technology, such as the 3D digital world using the interaction between reality and virtuality, ChatGPT, AI, and robotics, will change humanity in the future.
However, humans have a history of becoming arrogant with a little success. So, in the end, there is no one who is forever successful or forever unsuccessful. Like the harmony of the universe, the rise and fall of human beings is also fair. Once, Jerusalem was not destroyed by the Babylonian Empire, but by its own demise. The long and difficult time of the past three years brought about by Covid-19 was like a warning to humanity to start a new life. Just as the Renaissance revived a dying Europe, it is clear that what humanity needs now is the courage and wisdom to replace the old system and be reborn.
Unfortunately, despite the era of rapid and lightning-fast change, one of the places where change is slow is schools. The current school scene is engulfed in various problems such as educational inequality, educational disparity, the production of out-of-school youth, school violence, and the judicialization of schools with students and parents. The wisdom to recover or normalize this lies with the teachers, the subject of education.
But teachers are now also weakened and cowering due to parents' abuse of power, malicious complaints, child abuse reports, and violations of teachers' rights. The Ministry of Education and the Office of Education are trying to play the role of problem solvers, but they are not gaining trust due to ineffective policies. The '5 Laws for the Protection of Teachers' Rights' for securing and protecting teachers' rights have instead been disguised as 'Teacher Abuse Prevention Laws' or 'Teacher Bashing Laws,' making a lot of noise but making it difficult to feel any real change.
Nevertheless, our education must now focus on diversity and the development of creativity and imagination. To do this, we need change makers who create changes in a world different from the past. For individuals, a change maker is ultimately the path to living as the master of their own lives and as true democratic citizens. School autonomy is no exception in the era of local autonomy. Here, the spirit of solidarity and cooperation between teachers, students, parents, and the local community is absolutely necessary. This is the way to restore the trust of the current nominal public education.
To do this, we must ride the waves of relentless change and cross the rough ocean. To do this, we must restore the history of mankind with the power of coexistence and symbiosis that guaranteed the survival of Homo sapiens. This also means that we must lift our education out of falling into a deeper quagmire. Here, the role of teachers as lonely travelers, solitary pilgrims, beings who benefit the world, nutrients and fertilizers that grow life, and people who create change with courage towards the world is important.
Bill Drayton, the first social entrepreneur and founder of Ashoka, a global non-profit organization, who said, "The success of a society in the future depends on how many change makers are in it," demands the role of teachers as the subject of overcoming the reality of our education. In response, I shout out with suggestions for groundbreaking support and policies from the government and education authorities for the healing of teachers' pain and wounds of this era. "Teacher, you must become the great change maker of this era!"
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