We partner with individuals, classrooms, schools, and organizations to foster new conversations and a new vision for schooling at the local and national levels.
Here we share the stories from students, educators, parents, leaders, and community members across the country. Each story is an expression of an individual's hopes, fears, joys, and aspirations. Each story is unique and powerful on its own. Together they are the collective dreams of a nation.
We hope you will enjoy browsing and sharing your thoughts. You can search for your state, or people you know by using the search bar. Intrigued, Inspired?! Sign up to be a Catalyst!
“Freedom to still dream, freedom to still execute their dream. Freedom to always be in a space of possibility. Freedom to be adventurous, freedom to explore. And freedom to love. Freedom to care about human life. Freedom to understand - and this just from a spiritual place for me - for them to understand that this life is transitional, that you are here temporarily and that you have a choice of how you live it. A freedom to choose how you live it.“
Read More"I think that if we step back and ask ourselves what we would want of our society and what we want of our institutions, I think we would have no hesitation in saying that the aim of them should be to enable us to live well. . . So, schools have to be focused on enabling each child in the school’s care to make progress towards living a good life."
Read More"The more I work in schools the more I realize that schools are the most social places on the planet—it’s just people interacting with people all day, whether it's adults and adults, kids and kids, or adults and kids. It’s just understanding how to approach others in ways that are not going to turn them off, that are coming from a place of inquiry. I’m trying to say that the more time I spend in schools, the more I realize it’s really about empathy."
Read MoreI learned so much from my students about how important it was to make sure that schools were also places where humans could grow. It’s important for young people to be able to figure out who they are, to develop their own identity, to figure out what their passions are, to really know their strengths and their struggles, and to be able to navigate a world in which they need the skills and know-how to showcase their strengths and advocate for themselves.
Read MoreBut I think the major things – the metrics for instance, – are evil. Evil, evil, evil – because it can be misconstrued. It’s so easy to go, “90%, yay!” But what does that 90% actually mean? And does that actually make you a better human being? Possibly. But it also may not make you a human being at all, it just makes you good at being valued in a larger system, a good result.
Read MoreSome people would blame the teachers, some people would blame poverty, some would blame our values as a country, some people would blame unions, some would blame the “corporate reformers,” or charter schools, etc. My main feeling is that everyone’s right in some respects, but all of our views are also incomplete. In our field, we’ve had so much focus on ‘why not’ that I think we’re better off working on how we all can think differently about what’s possible for the future.
Read MoreWhat I want at a macro level is that whether you’re in rural Brazil or in Prospect Leffert Gardens in NYC that you would have the same opportunity to education, and that education would have an equalizing effect - though that’s not the case right now. Right now, if you’re of a certain echelon, or run with a certain type of people, then you’re often not mixing with other students from other areas or backgrounds - and then you’re just keeping those kids within their own isolated part of society and reinforcing inequality.
Read MoreThe friendships you form are a big part of school. School forms your social network, which is like after-hours education. After school I went to play with this friend or that friend. And then I saw, oh, that kid doesn’t have a dad – that’s what that looks like. Or, oh, that kid lives with his uncle – that’s what that kind of family looks like. It’s how you learn about the world and learn how to be a friend.
None of that speaks to “book education”, per se, but it is part of the holistic, forming experience of schools.
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"Success looks different for everyone. For me, it’s about self-sufficiency, both emotionally and financially, as well as having confidence in yourself. Success is more of an emotional state than an end point. I also understand that Maisie may feel differently about success than I do—she will have her own definition and if that’s what brings her joy, then I support that."
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