Education Evolution

Every child deserves an education, no matter their circumstances or geography. But not every child actually does get to go to school or have access to a quality education.    If you have access to podcasts, you likely have privileges that many of our youth and young adults across the globe don't have. You have a roof over your head; you have food on your table; and you likely have a job that allow...

In years past, summer school has been used as a way to punish kids who were falling behind, putting them into remedial classes where there was a lot of rote memorization and dry reading crammed into a short space. While those days aren't fully over yet, many organizations and schools are working hard to create summer school programs that are engaging and allow students to succeed on their own term...

We've all always known that not everyone has the same access to a quality education. We only need to look in our own communities to see the difference. But travel overseas and you'll find children living in poverty that we can't even imagine who don't have access to some of our basic human rights, education being only one of them.   I recently had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala City to vis...

Traditional standardized assessments are easy to use because they expect every student to take the exact same test. It's easy to grade and inexpensive to administer. But these kinds of tests don't work. They expect mastery at a granular level and don't account for students who are well above or below the bell curve.   Technology now allows us to administer adaptive assessments, where students are...

Every human on the planet has a right to an education. And, more importantly, a right to the education that they need and want. In Western culture, that often looks like traditional education…sitting in seats in classrooms and memorizing vocabulary and historical dates.   Not only is this not what our children need, the ability to memorize isn't a sign of success. Nor is this even a good way to ed...

One of the challenges with traditional education settings is that you're bound to the same place for nine or more months every year. Slow travel, or really learning about a culture or community is difficult, if not impossible.   But the reality is that taking kids out of their comfort zones and letting them learn and live in other areas can teach them about kindness, purpose, building relationship...

A question we don't ask enough is what we want from education. Of course we all want well-rounded young adults when they're done with school, people who can become productive members of our society and who also have a healthy worldview.   But our schools are not preparing our youth in this way. Students are graduating from high school with a narrow mindset because they haven't experienced anything...

If you've ever traveled to another country, you know how exciting it is to learn about other cultures. But as adults, many of us don't have the opportunity to spend an extended period of time overseas. What if we were able to do that traveling in high school, learning by being immersed in culture, rather than sitting in a classroom eight hours a day?   That's what this week's guest, Joann McPike,...

Imagine the two most difficult things that you could possibly go through happening simultaneously. Parenting a child, and the grief of losing a child. Now imagine parenting a surviving child after they lose their sibling.   Surviving children need unique care to work through their grief, in the midst of the parent sitting in their own grief. And while there are many grief support groups out there,...

Schools usually fail before someone steps up to try to diagnose what's wrong and fix it. Meanwhile, hundreds and thousands of learners suffer through subpar educational practices that might meet the needs of a select few, but not the majority.   When it comes to health, we know that prevention is the best medicine. We take care of our bodies so we can remain healthy for many years. But in our anti...

Sometimes it takes time working and learning in a broken system to find the path to changing lives. After more than 25 years in education, John Camp (or Camp, as he prefers to be called) was on the lookout for something that was more student-centered and progressive at a school level than what he had experienced thus far.   As founding head of teaching and learning at New England Innovation Academ...

As parents, we want the best for our kids. When it comes to their education, there are so many options out there, it can feel overwhelming and sometimes impossible to find the best setting for them. What really are the differences between public, private, online, and homeschooling? What is an NPA? How can families find the resources they need to make these important decisions for their children?  ...

Schools won't change on their own, often needing a push from concerned educators, community members and, most importantly, parents. But too often parents don't know how to get involved or how to speak out on behalf of their children.   Thankfully there are tools and resources out there to help parents understand their rights (and the rights of their children) and learn how to talk to policymakers...

Online learning is no longer a novelty that's all about checking boxes and "getting through the material." Because of innovations in technology, there are so many possibilities to create truly engaging learning experiences and to foster a joy of learning for both students and teachers. This week on the podcast, I'm talking with Shaunak Roy, CEO of Yellowdig where they're helping K-12 schools, coll...

We're not supporting our youth in developing into well-rounded individuals, and one of the culprits is our educational system, which isn't set up to inspire greatness. This is a challenge we can remedy. So why aren't we?   Especially when there are educational leaders, like Chris Menagé, who create systems and opportunities to do things differently.   This week on the podcast, Chris is sharing the...

Life is full of surprises, and not all of them are good. But sometimes the challenges we go through are the catalyst for changing our lives and inspiring others to do the same.   That's the case for Jon Acton, this week's podcast guest. After a nearly 30-year career in education, Jon became a school superintendent in March 2020…just days before COVID hit and schools had to make a big left turn. Th...

There's little worse than being told what you have to do, when you have to do it, and how. And especially when kids are involved, they're pretty good at digging in their heels and refusing. Ask any parent or teacher!   But we're still telling kids what they have to learn, how they have to learn it, and when. We're doing a disservice to them and, frankly, to the teachers who have to follow the pres...

The whole point of this podcast is to help education evolve into something that better serves our children. We know that today's model doesn't work; let's inspire some change! I love talking to leaders about how they're making changes and helping to grow the inspiration to beyond their own immediate circle.   This time of year, I like to take time to reflect, express gratitude, and look forward. A...

Helping youth who have dropped out of high school is important, but what if we could prevent the dropouts altogether? That's the idea behind Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), championed by this week's podcast guest, Ken Smith.   As the president and CEO of this 40-year-old non-profit organization, Ken is working to ensure that America's most vulnerable youth succeed after high school and secure...

What better way to support young kids to be happy and healthy students than to encourage them to play. Unfortunately, that's not the way we operate in the U.S. Instead, we prioritize test scores and sitting quietly and academically-charged preschools.   It's no wonder that our youth are depressed and unhappy. We're so busy believing the myths about education and children that social media and the...

Imagine being at a school where 80% of the students look like you…but you're the only one like you who is in the honors and advanced classes. That's where this week's guest, Carlon Howard, found himself as he readied to graduate from high school. And that experience put him on the pathway that landed him as a leader and impact-maker in educational equity.   Carlon has a passion for supporting indi...

Our youth are amazing people, who are learning and growing every day. Part of that learning includes figuring out what they enjoy doing and what they're good at. As educators, we get to help them see how their skills and interests can potentially turn into a career.   But not enough of us are doing that, and it can be challenging to find a connection when teenagers and young adults adopt new inter...

You have to make so many decisions every day as an educator or educational leader. It's overwhelming and enough to drive you to burnout. Add to that the change that happens seemingly every minute in the classroom or the office.   We can't train on how to manage our brains around the constant disruptions and distractions. But you can change how you plan for and react to them.   This week on the pod...

Why do we need to wait for youth to get involved? They're here now and are highly capable of being a part of the dialogue and decision-making. This week on the podcast, we're exploring what that looks like in action from an organization that has been in the trenches for a decade.   Rachel Belin, managing partner and co-founder of Kentucky Student Voice Team works alongside youth to help create an...

Research and experiences allow us to consistently develop new best practices for teaching and learning. What worked last year may not work this year, for a multitude of reasons. And what we thought worked years ago clearly isn't what's best for our kids. So we get to shift what we're doing to ensure we're giving all our students what they need in order to flourish. (If only all educational decisio...