Dear students of the 21st Century, Most of us are students by default. However, we can only be learners by choice. Students go to school and listen to their teachers. Learners actively learn things that matter for the future. Take a look at the skills and qualities identified in McKinsey's report that are needed for the future world of work -- structured problem solving, achievement orientation, driving change and innovation, digital literacy. How many of those skills are being cultivated in your education? Your education doesn't necessarily mean the school you go to. You can get perfectly educated without attending school, and unfortunately, according to Gatto, education and schooling are mutually exclusive terms. So, as Allen Grant (commonly misattributed to Mark Twain) puts it -- don't let school interfere with your education. Take authorship of your own education. Ask yourself the big questions: What do you want to do with your life? What knowledge or skills do you need to be there? This isn’t just about personal achievement. Our world desperately needs global-competent learners to tackle the most pressing global issues facing humanity -- climate change, regional conflicts, economic inequality, the rapid development of technology. If your school fails to empower you to become a change-maker to achieve what you want to see in the world, do it yourself. The world that we grew up in is quickly receding into the horizon while the future is approaching faster than we thought. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly revolutionizing the technological and intellectual frontier of human capabilities. "Some of the smartest humans in the world are struggling to create tests that A.I. systems can’t pass." Certain workspaces are already feeling this influence, while unfortunately schools -- institutions detached from the real world and stuck in outdated systems -- are always the last to adapt. Most of what we learn in schools today are already obsolete. Spend less time worrying about the test next week. Spend more time preparing yourself for the freedom and responsibilities that you would acquire after graduation. Schools often fail to answer the question of "What next?" But you owe yourself a clear answer. Life does not end once we graduate. In fact, it truly begins the moment you step beyond the classroom. You may be a student while in school, but you must be a learner throughout your life. The hard truth? Most schools are terrible at providing education and do not care about your future. You are out of their business the moment you graduate. And that's exactly why you need to assume responsibility for your own education and take charge of your own future. Never too late. ## Sources Allen, Grant. _Post-Prandial Philosophy_. Chatto & Windus, 1894. Dondi, Marco, et al. _Defining the Skills Citizens Will Need in the Future World of Work_. McKinsey & Company, [https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/defining-the-skills-citizens-will-need-in-the-future-world-of-work](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/defining-the-skills-citizens-will-need-in-the-future-world-of-work). Accessed 23 Mar. 2025. Gatto, John Taylor. Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. New Society Publishers, 1992. Roose, Kevin. “When A.I. Passes This Test, Look Out.” _The New York Times_, 23 Jan. 2025. _NYTimes.com_, [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/technology/ai-test-humanitys-last-exam.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/technology/ai-test-humanitys-last-exam.html).