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!
"But I feel like, jeez, isn’t it also a leap of faith if you send your child to a more traditional school, in which the risk there is that they might learn to hate learning? That they don't get to do things they care about, they just do things that they're asked to do? That they become really good unquestioning rule followers who think of themselves as human capital? That seems scarier to me."
Read More"So, on the last question about why schools don’t do a better job of realizing that vision, many people would then critique the school only in so far as the school does or does not result in economic gain. The school becomes this motor, or engine, of the economy such that it’s an easy scapegoat for many people. We can point fingers at the schools or the teachers and say: 'They’ve done a poor job. And we know that they’ve done a poor job because we don’t have the workers that we need, or our economy is not performing the ways we expect it to. Or we predict that it won’t because we’re seeing these or those scores on standardized tests.' In my mind, that misses the more human elements of the good of schools and of education more broadly."
Read More"So, I'm going to talk about her I think. I think where the system is falling short for a kid like my daughter is it doesn't give kids the chance to push themselves outside the boundaries of school. Her current high school doesn't give them opportunities to go out into the field to learn. Doesn't encourage them to really do a lot concurrent enrollment. The system still wants to contain the experience for the learner in that school or that environment. And that is a real challenge, because our world is not contained like that. And it used to be more contained, but it's not any more."
Read More...My perspective is shaped by seeing the effects that working in the fields does to the body. And just how difficult it is, generally. And being the daughter of immigrants, as well, is another story. I remember something my dad told me. We’re so important to society, and yet we’re not treated as important. I mean, they are providing the food for the entire nation to eat, and yet they’re not provided with any other rights... So given that economic reality growing up, I think pretending that education is not for a more economically secure future is silly.
Read MoreWhy is the very system that we charge with connecting people to their greatest possibility...so far removed from what we know about what it takes to be a thriving person?
Read MoreI think that to a great extent schools are an extension of the society in which they evolve. They reflect the values of our society so it would be really shocking if our society had the values that it clearly has based on all the reality television shows out there, and yet our kids are raised to just think for themselves, to care about others, and to just do what makes them happy. I think that would be the greatest disconnect in the history of the world. Doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. I do think it could happen, but I don’t think that’s where we are.
Read More"I think schools are more focused on achievement on tests and learning basic skills. They are not as concerned with relationships. I do think that individual teachers do that, though, if they are passionate"
Read MoreI think that every child brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the table, and I think we need to figure out as teachers how to adapt and bring out the uniqueness in them in order for them to ultimately be successful
I 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 MoreWe should make school a place where kids create because of school not in spite of school!
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 MoreI think formal schooling plays a vital role but it’s one of many factors of a good overall education. Students in school is like a chef at a grocery store. Teachers provide the educational tools and some recipes. Some students follow the recipe, and that’s okay. Some students are more creative to take the raw ingredients to deviate from the recipes to create something wonderful and new.
Read More"Sometimes schools can be so prescriptive and it’s hard to have that ability to adjust. You have to remember as a teacher that you need to be a great listener--responding to what they feel and what they want, rather than constantly making sure they’re hitting certain benchmarks, but getting more personal feedback from your students."
Read More"We came to live in the US as immigrants is because we want to give a better future for our kids. Although China has opulent opportunities for our generation to create fortune, it’s definitely not a place to raise future generations. Now we’re living in a blessed area with top schools in the nations, but I still see a lot of things that aren’t set up for creating a future world citizen. ...I also worry about the mentality of racing to nowhere here. In this environment, everyone is very competitive on reaching goals. Well, I don’t want her to conform to this competitive culture without knowing what she should be running for."
Read More"I think the hopeful explanation is that schooling actually exists as a human right, as something that empowers you to participate meaningfully as a citizen in our society and contributes to the civic health of our communities, both locally and globally. And through that process, people find personal meaning and fulfillment, and ways to contribute that are validating of who they are and that make them feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves."
Read More"Who knows! When you talk about the 80’s in Miami, a lot of dangerous stuff was happening - who knows what kind of trouble I could’ve gotten into - jail, getting shot, who knows. That teacher turned me around, and showed me that there was a positive way to expend my energies. So when I got elected in 1999 I had him come administer the oath of office to me, because no doubt, he’s responsible for that. That’s a pretty powerful example of school making a difference - one individual making a difference."
Read MoreI worry that because he’s been sheltered a bit by living an upper middle class life that his reality is different from a lot of other people who look like him. Finding your balance in that is difficult - I grew up similar – to figure out where you fit in as a black person in this world when society tells you one thing and you experience something completely different is hard. It’s probably easier for kids now because minorities are becoming the majority. But I worry that he won’t carry his identity with him in the way I do. It’s the first thing I say when people ask me to say a little about myself - I’m a black woman. Kids these days don’t carry that with them in a way they’re proud of.
Read MoreDo you want to say more about what you see your mission as?
Oh sure, yeah: Subverting the public education system in the US that exists today. And trying to create something meaningful and real that empowers young people to become critical thinkers and to change society. ... I see public schooling's intention as creating complacent citizens that will carry out what needs to be done to promote the survival of the capitalist system. I don’t think it’s a healthy organism.
Read MoreSomewhere along the line, his joy of learning was squelched. I wish that had been nurtured - that he had an enthusiasm for going out and learning things. He made a comment somewhere along the line that, “school is so dumb, basically they teach me things that I already know or teach me things I don't need to know”.
Read MoreD: I feel like to a certain extent, some schools are in place to hold an institutionalized racism. Depending on the area code, you may be receiving a totally different education than people in in richer stereotypically whiter neighborhoods. Everyone there is in AP, IB, or honors. The education system keeps people of color oppressed and helps white people excel.
E: I think America has schools because it wants its society to be better. To teach about how the government works, I think so that their citizens will have something to contribute to society, although that sometimes doesn't happen with everyone.
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