Too Much Conformity –
Not Enough Diversity

Is it just me? Or are the education systems around the world failing society and contributing to conflict in later life? We spend most of our formal educational years being told what to learn, when to learn it and in what format to learn it in. There are local government standards where we must pass examinations in order to move to the next level. However, even this aspect of the process is failing, as seen in the recent UK 'A' Level results fiasco.

These 'standards' generally mean the intake of prescribed facts and opinions of the educationalists in a particular country. What happens to those who don't make it? For those who fail to conform to these standards, is there a genuinely credible alternative path?

What is most shocking is the age at which we are now asking our children to pass conformity exams. In order to enter a particular nursery in London, children will have to sit a series of 'tests' at the age of three. Interestingly, none of the tests asks how muddy they can get in one outdoor play session, something they might actually know about. As this process of learning conformity occurs throughout the early life of individuals it is no wonder some become bored. Why should these methods of learning require more active but less academic children to sit, digesting eight hours a day of material? What about those with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)? Are hyperactive children still considered a disruptive influence in the classroom? What is being done to accommodate these and other different groups?

The lucky ones escape the conformity trap to develop creative and diverse careers. However, individuals in communities (micro or macro) are often ridiculed, ostracised and/or considered dangerous, simply for daring to be different and non-conformist. Why does this happen? In many ways the first stages of the dot.com era provided opportunities for people to be creative in new ways. But will we revert back to tradition as we assess the effect of the subsequent dot.bomb period?

For the rest of us, we consider ourselves fortunate to gain a career in the exciting corporate world only to spend the next four months in induction (conformity?) programmes. The only difference from your student days is that you have to wear a suit to class now in order to conform to the standard. This would be all very well, we have gained our certificates and grabbed our work cubicles - oh life is sweet! Then out of the blue someone says you have to go to a diversity class, to encourage, well diversity. The first you do is reach for your dictionary to confirm the meaning of the word. The Concise Oxford Dictionary says of diversity:

'Being diverse, unlikeness; different kind; variety.'

Given the recent shenanigans in corporate America I would not be surprised at the odd conspiracy here. Just picture a generation ago, a number of politicians developing a rigid education system that encourages conformity, while simultaneously investing in companies that were developing diversity classes. 'That's my nest-egg Bob!' Okay, it is far-fetched but the point is we shouldn't need to attend a diversity class if the educational system had encouraged this in the first place. Just take a look at the number of companies that are offering diversity training. We really need to ask ourselves why this is not an ingrained part of the educational systems from the start.

As a society we do not persuade enough people to be or to think differently. Clearly, this tendency to conform has its roots in education. There should not be the need for remedial work around the issue of diversity later on in life if our education system and society has developed this from the beginning.

If we have encouraged our increasingly diverse populations to learn in tandem, employing open minds, we should not need the multi-million dollar diversity business. Perhaps this is why we have a fundamental lack of understanding between different and diverse groups of people, simply because we have not taught or encouraged true exploration of different ways of thinking and different ways of achieving. This lack in our education, as we have seen, has led to devastating conflict.

We should be encouraging diversity of thought and expression from an early age. By adult life it is more difficult to change the way we think. This is much easier to do when we are at the stage of formulating ideas and opinions - and developing the sense of self needed to express them.

Who knows, by doing so we may even encourage a more understanding and harmonious global community.