The Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was the guest of the ‘İZMEM Education Platform Online Training’ held within the scope of the Professional Development Academy organized by the İzmir Provincial Directorate of National Education. Tarhan, who made evaluations on the topic of “New Truths in Education and 21st Century Skills” during the online training, stated; “If we implement these 21st-century skills in education, the new generation of youth will be those who catch up with the era. New educators will be shaped accordingly. Not every university should have faculties of education. Just as health universities were established, education universities should also be established in the same way. They should primarily be established in large cities like İzmir, Istanbul, and Ankara. Our education system needs a reform. Unless we carry out this reform, such individual efforts in our education system will not yield results, and unfortunately, we will be the objects, not the subjects, of global developments. They will produce, and we will consume.”
“Learning by experience is a 21st-century skill”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, drawing attention to connectivity as one of the 21st-century skills in the program, which garnered significant interest from educators, stated; “Another skill in this era is connectivity, collaboration skills. If you are going to work on a subject, if you are going to provide quality education, you will prioritize connectivity. Teamwork is important for enabling collaboration and innovation. In fact, Finland is a place that extensively applies these new models in education. Years ago, a team of education experts from Turkey went there to ask, ‘What is this education model?’ and they saw children dressed in winter, in the snow and cold weather, having lessons in the garden. Our experts immediately asked, ‘Why are you doing this outside when there is a warm classroom here?’ When they asked, ‘How do you keep these students outside running and playing?’, our experts found their answer even more interesting. Because they said, ‘How do you keep so many students in one classroom? That’s what’s really strange.’ In this way, students will disassemble, assemble, reach out, and learn things. They will learn while in motion. This is not the time for the model of learning by sitting and nodding your head. Therefore, being open to new experiences and learning by experience is important. Learning by experience is a 21st-century skill. The way this flows is through teamwork.”
“Young people raised with 21st-century skills become young people who catch up with the era”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, speaking about the implementation process of the Positive Psychology course, stated; “Positive psychology is not actually being a Pollyanna. This is always misunderstood. In normal psychology, pathology improves. It brings the situation back to zero. Positive psychology, on the other hand, elevates this situation. How do you live to be happy, how do you live to be more peaceful, more comfortable…? It provides education on well-being and psychological resilience in that style. Harvard Üniversitesi introduced this as a course in 2015. It talks about values, the mind-body relationship, compassion, and similar things. On the other hand, Yale Üniversitesi introduced this course in 2018. In fact, Yale Üniversitesi opened this course to the public during the Covid period in 2021, and three and a half million people registered for it. The New York Times reported this in March. After an increase in suicides, Bristol Üniversitesi announced in 2019 that it would offer a happiness course at the undergraduate level. Bristol, a university in England, you see the world is heading in this direction. As Üsküdar Üniversitesi, we did this in 2013. Not to boast, but we offered this course before Harvard Üniversitesi. Ultimately, if we implement these 21st-century skills in education, the new generation of youth will be those who catch up with the era. New educators will be shaped accordingly. In fact, I have said this in several places; therefore, not every university should have faculties of education. Just as health universities were established, education universities should also be established in the same way. They should primarily be established in large cities like İzmir, Istanbul, and Ankara. Our education system needs a reform. If we cannot carry out this reform, unfortunately, we will be the objects, not the subjects, of global developments. They will produce, and we will consume; we will be their marketers.”
“The state needs to allocate a budget for R&D”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that the project ideas of most famous entrepreneurs emerged during their master's or doctoral studies; “It's such a thing that there is a global race in education too. Silicon Valley is not actually a physical valley, but a mental one. Significant innovation emerges here, there is serious interaction. Two-thirds of the employees in Silicon Valley are said to be foreigners. They are not American. That is, all those who are currently making innovations are those who started when they were young. Like those who founded Google... Google was actually the master’s thesis of two young people. Or Facebook was also created by students. There are some big computer companies like HP, for example. You see, they started with the initials of two names, two doctoral students started together. These works usually come out of master’s and doctoral programs. That's why the state needs to allocate a budget for R&D. I looked at this year's budget, and R&D is again very low.”
“If the teacher loves, the student loves the lesson…”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that entrepreneurship courses should be brought down to high school level; “Reform in education needs to be created by combining R&D with education. There should also be reform in education without doing R&D. Students need to be given project culture and entrepreneurship courses. At the high school level. We introduced it at the university, but it's still late. Project culture and entrepreneurship should be taught as courses in high school. There are some initiatives for these. I am not pessimistic about this, but the more steps we can take, the better it will be. There can be no change in education without a mental transformation in our education system. That is, educators first need a mental transformation. For a student to be successful, it is important for them to love their teachers and educators. If they love the teacher, that child loves the lesson. They love the lesson and work harder. If the child does not love the teacher, they only study the lesson to pass. But for the teacher to be loved, the teacher also needs to love the student. That is also the essence of classroom management. We have all never forgotten teachers who taught with passion, enthusiasm, and excitement. Such teachers have always been our heroes in elementary school. Teachers have been our heroes. Because they see children as seeds planted for the future. They strive to raise them well, to fill their minds with good and beautiful things. Children do not forget these; they remember them with good wishes. We must not lose this enthusiasm. If we combine this enthusiasm with innovation and entrepreneurship, and the excitement of R&D, we will have made a significant policy change in education.”