Enough with T-shaped people. Let's build 上-shaped (Shang-shaped) people
By George ILIEV Repurpose Education T-shaped people have breadth of knowledge (the horizontal stroke of T) and depth in one particular area (the vertical stroke). They are the ideal employees of consulting firms: knowledgeable enough to collaborate with everybody and specialist enough so that their skills have value on the market. However, there is an even better metaphor to describe the type of people we need in a knowledge-based society: " 上 " [shang], the Chinese character for "Up", as in 上海 (Shanghai). Here is the rationale for 上 , with its three elements: foundation, aspiration and a hook. 1) The horizontal stroke is the breadth of generalist knowledge: a FOUNDATION which modern high-school education is expe cted to develop. 2) The vertical stroke is the ASPIRATION towards a particular area of expertise, which ideally should be your hobby. After all, you are what you take time to become. If you often do something that you are passionate abo...