America’s outdated public education system is failing to prepare students for the cognitive demands of modern industries and warfare.

If the human brain is the new battlefield of the 21st century, we must do everything possible to prepare the next generation to build a foundation of cognitive skill sets, ensuring a fair playing field.

Today’s public education system is failing to equip students for the careers and challenges of a rapidly changing world. Fields such as robotics, drones, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity require new skill sets and experiential knowledge that traditional curricula often fail to address.

Cognitive competitiveness—once an abstract concern—is now a critical national issue. Similarly, cognitive warfare is a strategic blend of information, technology, and psychological manipulation designed to influence beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes, thereby securing cognitive dominance.

Yet, our public school system remains mired in an outdated Industrial Age model. What is taught increasingly diverges from the competencies required in today’s workforce. The curricula, with their emphasis on rote memorization, repetition, and routine, reflect a 19th-century vision of factory labor rather than the dynamic needs of a 21st-century economy.

The urgency for reform is clear. We must abandon the regimentation of Industrial Age education and embrace modern educational models. This overhaul cannot be tentative; it must be comprehensive. Teachers must be retrained—or replaced altogether—with those capable of delivering the skills that matter now.

At the core of this transformation should be a new foundation: cognitive competence. Students must be taught not only content but also how to think critically, process information, solve problems, and apply reasoning to absorb and deploy new knowledge effectively. The ability to adapt to unfamiliar challenges must become as fundamental as literacy and numeracy.

It is vital to integrate FACT-based skills—Flexibility, Adaptability, Creativity, and Technology—into educational programs at an early stage. These competencies, outlined over a decade ago in my article “Why Johnny Isn’t Ready to Take on Today’s Jobs,” extend beyond the traditional STEM model and better capture what future jobs will require.

Meanwhile, global competitors are not standing still. Nations around the world are cultivating workforces that are steeped in cognitive skill development, producing candidates who are better suited for roles that demand next-generation intellectual agility. They are winning the cognitive competitiveness race while we are falling behind.

In my forthcoming article for the American Intelligence Journal, “Foundation of Educational Skill Sets Needed for the 21st Century Military & Cognitive Competitiveness,” I argue that the U.S. military must prepare its recruits with these advanced cognitive capabilities. Future conflicts will not be waged solely with tanks and missiles but with information streams, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Recruits who can navigate this complex terrain will be indispensable.

The military should play a more proactive role in shaping public education to ensure future soldiers and citizens, more broadly, are prepared for the demands of cognitive warfare. Developing the ability to counter misinformation, recognize propaganda, and adapt to rapidly evolving technologies is no longer optional; it is a national security imperative.

These cognitive skills should be instilled by middle school. They are essential not just for the military but for a society increasingly targeted by those who seek to exploit cognitive vulnerabilities.

In cognitive warfare, adversaries weaponize cognitive biases—amplifying, confirming, or manipulating them through emotional, cultural, and historical levers. How individuals understand and act on information can now be a battleground as vital as any physical territory.

The public education system, if it is to serve its purpose, must be overhauled with this reality in mind. Establishing technology- and cognition-focused programs early in a child’s education would create a workforce capable of grappling with the complexities of modern life and labor.

There is no time to waste. Our adversaries—including China, Russia, North Korea, and Israel—are already advancing cognitive warfare initiatives. Non-state actors, including terrorist organizations, are adopting these methods too. We are dangerously behind in this new strategic competition.

As the adage warns, an uneducated populace is easier to control, manipulate, and intimidate. Cognitive superiority is not just an advantage; it is a defense. Education must be treated as a frontline national priority, not a secondary concern.

As I note in my upcoming piece for the American Intelligence Journal, electronic warfare is undergoing significant evolution. Cognitive warfare has emerged as the newest strategic domain—and one in which we are not yet prepared to compete.

If we continue teaching checkers while the rest of the world plays chess, we will cede not just economic and military superiority but cognitive sovereignty itself.