Education

The current educational paradigm, particularly in business and STEM-focused education, has long prioritized economic growth and profit as markers of success, devaluing collaboration and disparaging failure. Models from the 1970s and 80s, like those of Michael Porter and Henry Mintzberg, continue to dominate, promoting a narrow view of progress and success. At the same time, arts education is severely underfunded. 

Today’s emphasis on productivity and rational education stifles abstract thought and emotional intelligence. Storytelling and creativity are neglected in favor of technical and analytical skills. In turn, technology gains influence on our lives, and we experience the erosion of our cognitive and social skills. This has led to a generation that is ill-equipped to appreciate or understand the value of awareness, emotional expression, connection, and beauty. 

Art plays a fundamental role in human life by offering richness, emotional awakening, and an understanding of who we are. Unable to engage deeply with art, people try instead to analyze it through a rational lens. This disconnect weakens our capacity to interpret and appreciate abstract concepts, making it harder for individuals to critically assess the systems we live in. To counter this, there is an urgent need to reintegrate arts into education, moving toward a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) approach that fosters creativity alongside analytical thinking. 

As we enhance our ability to understand art, we can employ it in storytelling, a critical yet often overlooked skill that can help to shape perspectives, engage people at a deeper level, and trigger change. As artificial intelligence increasingly automates tasks, preserving and developing these uniquely human capacities becomes essential. By fostering the “muscle” needed to appreciate beauty, emotions, and expression, society can cultivate a more holistic and resilient way of thinking with a more ancestral understanding and connection to the natural world. This training begins with what we emphasize in education. 

Concept contributors: Reon Brand, Twan Roubroeks, Jessica Smarsch, Edgar van der Linden, and Christel Verboven

Writing: Jessica Smarsch