It's happening: The re-invention of education | Are you in?

What is possible when education fulfills its highest potential? As we enter into 2017, I have come across some powerful illustrations that help answer this question, which I share here.

To further help articulate what the movement to reinvent education is about, I interviewed my colleague Ross Hall, from the Ashoka Europe team. He shares with us insights from the recent Ashoka Europe #ChangemakerEd Summit, which brought together fearless innovators in education from across Europe. This 15-17 February, Changemaker Schools in the United States will also mobilize and collaborate on ways to tip the education system in the U.S.

Transcending circumstance with empathy and changemaking

In her site, Brain Pickings, Maria Popova beautifully analyzes a letter from Albert Camus to his teacher, after winning the Nobel Prize. Maria shares that educationwhen it worksunlocks a young personsand I would also argue a teachers---ability to transcend the limitations of circumstance and the status quo. In its place, a person can then unleash mind and heart towards navigating the challenges and opportunities of life.

By cultivating #LeadYoung opportunities early on in a childs life, a young person will better develop cohesion and purpose to thrive in a world thats in a constant state of disruption. Experiences of cohesion and purpose at school---not just memorization of figures and factswill enable a young person to thrive, not just survive; to contribute, not just consume; to create, not just follow.

Why do we need to re-invent education right now?

I am a parent--I have three kids-I know that the world my kids live in today is fundamentally different from the world I lived in. There is way less security...way more volatility in the world...the job market is going to be different, and social-economic structures are shifting. I know that for my own kids to do well and to be well in todays world, it will take skills and values that are not the focus of current education system, says Ross Hall, Education Director for Ashoka Europe.

To reinvent education means elevating the young person as a creator and contributor, not a passive observer, to a constantly disrupted world. This is a driving force for educators, parents, and students in the global Changemaker network I am privileged to work with.

I want my kids to not just be well; I want them to be active contributors to making the world a better place, and able and inclined to make decisions that are good for them and good for others, Ross adds.

So what keeps Changemakers like Ross inspired and motivated to reinvent education?

I regularly meet teachers, school leaders, and visionaries who are actively trying to change education system, he says. It is these people who are changing the system substantially---and changing the experience of education that every young person has by building new learning ecosystems focused on providing experiences through which young people are equipped to make life better for their themselves, and their communities better.

Hear educators in their own words. Check out this video featuring educators and social entrepreneurs from the #ChangemakerEd network in South Africa:

Insights on common challenges faced by education visionaries, (from the recent Ashoka Europe #ChangemakerEd Summit):

// Mechanisms are not in place that allow new and innovative practices in education to penetrate into the mainstream and out of the margins. This is also true in how teachers are trained. Trainings for educators are based on outdated models that dont account for the world that students and teachers will have to navigate.

// Universities select students based on academic measures, primarily. Student assessments are built to emphasize test scores instead of human qualities such as empathy and leadership. Changemaker Schools at the Summit in Europe intend to tackle how to base admissions criteria on pro-social behaviors (Empathy, Leadership, Collaboration, etc). We have to tear this [outdated assessments and academic measures) up and disrupt it, according to Ross Hall.

// The more I personally reflect on my own work with young people across the world, it is clear that for the most part, students are mostly memorizing history, not making history. Why? How is this linear model answering the call of our ever changing world and equipping young people to navigate it with active hearts and minds?

// Resources and rigid school budgets, according to Ross Hall, prop up and maintain the old system of education instead of opening spaces for an evolving education that meets the challenges and needs of a constantly changing world.

Watch and access more insights from educators, social innovators and our Changemaker Schools from Ashoka Europes #ChangemakerEd Summit below:

So what came out of the recent education summit in Europe?

There is now a very substantial community of educators and leaders who are aligned on a common vision, which is: the reinvention and repurposing of education so that it centrally focuses on the provision of experiences for social and emotional learning (SEL), Ross says.

From this foundation, schools will no longer act as factories, but changemaker spaces where students are on a journey to becoming fully equipped to live for the common good, and create a world with new solutions and ways of doing things.

What can parents and teachers do?

// If you are a parent, teacher or student in the United States, join Ashokas Start Empathy and Changemaker Schools for a special Summit from 15-17 February, 2017. Education visionaries from our national Changemaker School network will spend more than 2 days collaborating on ways to reimagine education. Parts of the private retreat will be live streamed from Ashoka Start Empathys Facebook page and Ashokas Twitter . Tune in!

// Ross encourages parents to ask their kids what experiences they encounter in school. Then the parent can pursue to answer the question: What can I do make sure my kids are having experiences that are empowering them to dream, lead, act, and thrive in todays world?

// For a teacher, Ross suggests that he or she talks to other fellow teachers and students and ask the questions: What are we not spending enough time on when it comes to mastering empathy, collaboration and leadership?; What do we think is most important at the school and to what extent are we giving experiences that empower the students to make the world a better place?