Questions For Our Educators Circle
ServiceSpace
--Audrey Lin
2 minute read
Dec 22, 2014

 

We are hosting a 'Transformation in Education' circle tonight, and thrilled at the overwhelming response from the community. Close to 30 inspiring educators are convening to brainstorm around the nuances of aligning our values with the learning process.

Here are some of the questions we've been thinking about ...
 

What are we studying?  This incredible chart of 4 decades of college degrees show us that business majors keep growing, as Education drops dramatically alongside English.  First time ever, at Harvard this year, humanities was outranked by science.

Is it just about jobs?  STEM majors are more employable and so government has made these subjects a priority.  But can we quantify everything that matters in planning our future?​  

Is culture the new counter culture? Are reading and writing still important? Parents don't read to their children as much. 

What is education's higher purpose?  3x more Americans have bachelors degrees compared to just 2 generations ago. Yet only a third of Americans today consider themselves happy. How do we learn how to live with joy, meaning, and fulfillment?

As income gap increases, what happens to access to learning?  Lots of research shows adverse effects of income to one's learning journey.  Are programs like TFA successful? Are we helping, fixing, or serving students? Parker Palmer has ideas.

How does digital media change the way children think and focus? Why Steve Jobs was a low-tech parent? Why does the CTO of EBay send his kids to a school that doesn't allow technology? How can technology support for better learning and teaching?

Do we need a curriculum for compassion and empathy?  Almost 50% of kids in 4-12th grade are bullied at school each month. 31% are the bullies.  Should kids learn ethics in school? The internet turned 25 this year, but why don't we have a hippocratic oath for STEM majors?

If you have thoughts or more questions, we'd love to hear it!     
 

Posted by Audrey Lin on Dec 22, 2014


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