"What should systems thinking and system dynamics in K-12 education accomplish? We do not expect most students to spend their lives in front of a computer building system dynamics models. What should be the outcome of a systems education....?"
"I believe we should give students a more effective way of interpreting the world around them. They should gain a greater and well-founded confidence for managing their lives and the situations they encounter."
So began Jay Forrester's address to the 1994 "Systems Thinking and Dynamic Modeling for K-12 Education Conference". The rest of his talk explained in detail how a systems education can increase the interpreting (learning?) ability and confidence of students.
Please download and read Professor Forrester's address. It is entitled,
"Learning through System Dynamics as Preparation for the 21st Century"
and is available from Professor Forrester's web site [http://sysdyn.mit.edu/people/jay-forrester.html].