This week: How world education will change (according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)

If someone says... “What’s all this about storm-proof schools?”

You say... “Oh, that. It’s one of the recommendations from the OECD: the organisation behind the Pisa tests says that future school buildings need to be built to survive ‘extreme weather’. Its Trends Shaping Education 2019 report predicts the ways education will have to change in the future.”

If someone says... “What else is set to change?”

You say... “With the rise in fake news, the report says that efforts must be made to ‘equip citizens for disinformation’.”

If someone says... “We do that already. Does the report actually say anything new?”

You say... “We will need to ‘tackle the anti-microbial resistance’. Apparently, the proportion of infections caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics is rising, so schools will need to foster ‘health literacy’. And, with an ageing population, we will need to teach kids about caring for fragile elders.”

If someone says... “I’m off to add all of those to my to-teach list then.”

You say... “Shall we just go to the pub instead and wait for all this to blow over?”