From classroom to conscription: The hidden engine of Israel’s innovation

Around this time of year, many Korean high school seniors face a critical decision. Those who earn scholastic aptitude test scores high enough to enter their dream schools are elated and busy preparing their applications. The situation is far more complex for students who performed below their expectations. They must choose whether to apply to colleges based on their current scores or take a gap year to retake the college entrance exam in hopes of achieving better results. In stark contrast to Korea’s highly competitive and stressful academic environment, students in Israel spend their formative years in a very different educational setting, encouraged to question and challenge what is taken for granted. As a result, Israeli classrooms are often noisy, argumentative and seemingly chaotic. Their Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores regularly rank near the bottom among developed countries. Yet from an early age, children are taught a valuable lesson: There is no eternal truth. They are encouraged to challenge the obvious and ask “why” again and again. While Ko