The number one thing we hear from entrepreneurs and artists and creatives when we ask them about their education is about how irrelevant it was to their story. Sure, some folks had wonderful educational experiences, but for many their experiences left them feeling ill prepared for life and their careers. So, we wanted to create a space for folks to share their experiences and ideas for how we can improve our educational system.

Bailey Austin Bird

I wish required internships were a semester long and required field work as well. Learning on the job site connects the conceptual and the technical concepts to the real world experience. Often, I feel there is a disconnect between the computer drawings and renderings and real life application of materials and systems. Creating and dreaming is such a wonderful gift and when those ideas can be effectively constructed magic happens. Read more>>

Zach Tate

I have a workshop called , “Real Life,” that I present to students. I would like to revolutionize the educational system to be able to compete with other countries, and to teach students just how good they have it, despite their current situation. Read more>>

MJ King

I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very young age and I was incredibly lucky to not only have supportive parents but also many artistic opportunities available to me that the vast majority of students don’t have. From kindergarten through 8th grade I was taught and tutored by my elementary art teacher. I attended all of her summer art camps and went to her house on weekends where she taught me personally how to draw from life. She really helped me build a strong foundation and love for art and art history that I still carry with me to this day. From there I was accepted into Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where I spent four years exploring every medium imaginable and building a strong portfolio for college applications. I believe I ended up applying to 7 art colleges total, with absolutely no backup plan, and was thankfully accepted into every single one. I chose to accept my place at Ringling College of Art and Design in 2017 where I studied Illustration with a focus in Visual Development. I grew astronomically at my time in college and it seriously prepared me for my life and career afterwards. We not only studied drawing, painting, design, etc but what to do with these skills in order to make a living after graduation. We had an entire class on starting your own shop, social media management, contracts, marketing, etc that has proven to be invaluable to my success today. Read more>>

 Jay DeMerit

Moving forward we need more digital learning products that focus on the holistic intelligence of the user. We are specializing in all subjects way too early and because of external validation & poor social media products, we are becoming more inauthentic to our truths, therefore creating a greater stress and anxiety. Which in the end, leads our mental health to be poor. Read more>>

Angela Benton

After being in education for 27 years and serving in various roles, there are many wonderful things about education. However, there are some things I would change that would improve the system. One of the first things I would change would be allowing students to be free thinkers. I believe teachers often tell students what to think and how to feel about topics, instead of allowing them to make discoveries and figure things out on their own. The educational system should promote more problem solving and less memorization of facts. When children are allowed to figure things out and make discoveries, they grow into adults who have the skills to think their way thru problems and situations. They will be better equipped to work with people and be more productive on jobs or even as a business owner. Read more>>

Leslie Martino

The goals of education vary widely amongst those who have a stake in its overall outcome. As an educator, I see great value in encouraging students to have and explore ideas, to engage with the world around them, to adapt to change and uncertainty, and to practice valuable skills that help them access those ideas. How can we expect students to make their own valuable contributions if we don’t help them manage their own learning and self-directed pursuits, maintain flexibility and flexible thinking, and think critically and reflectively? A love for learning is not rushed. It is built through the kind of care that over time, grows our self-awareness and ability to make sound moral judgments that complement various fields and disciplines. Read more>>

Laura Manzani

I’ve always valued education and “formal” education was important in my family growing up. My dad had a masters degree and my mom got her MFA while I was in college so for a while we were in school together, which was cool. Mid-way through my undergraduate program I had enough units to either pursue photography or to continue in a more “responsible” path, political science/pre-law and then go to law school. I chose the latter route thinking that trying to be an artist in LA was not a wise path. I was a young mom and was concerned about getting work and being able to support my daughter on my own. I didn’t pursue my passion and art wholly until later in life. Read more>>

Jessica Coke

The mission of the Inspire Youth Global Scholars Program is to provide young scholars from marginalized backgrounds with the opportunity to become global citizens and global agents of change in the world. Through methods of active storytelling, service learning projects, and leadership initiatives, Inspire Youth Global Scholars will learn about their own communities, and cultures, and how their own experiences relate to others in different cultures across the globe. Read more>>

Dustin Hoffman

This is a very interesting question for me personally. I have always been very financially motivated. Throughout the years I have found myself spending much of my free time on various strategies to build wealth. I have come to the conclusion that there is almost a limitless number of ways to become wealthy over time. One of the things that I find the most interesting is that although having a high income is helpful, there are many other small decisions to hold onto your hard earned income that seem more significant throughout one’s lifetime. I’m always fascinated by stories of people with high salaries living paycheck to paycheck, and then conversely low-income earners dying with what seems like unachievable wealth. Now to answer your question directly. From my experience, our education system lacks even a basic understanding and inclusion of financial education. I never learned how to balance a checkbook or create a budget at any level of education. I did not understand the significance of your credit score. I didn’t realize that a poor credit score will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime, in the form of higher interest rates on major purchases. I didn’t understand that payments on most home mortgages are mostly interest for many years. All these items and many more are very easy to understand. I am still amazed to this day that these things are not common knowledge and taught in schools as part of the standard curriculum. My point is that I have had to put a lot more time and effort into learning these concepts on my own, sometimes the hard way, when it should have been common knowledge. I feel like a basic understanding of financial education would lead to a society of greater prosperity and allow many people to spend more of their time pursuing what they are passionate about, pursuing their dreams, and contributing to society in more meaningful ways. I think the first step is to remove the notion that talking about one’s finances is taboo. We need to start having open and honest conversations about money in our own homes with friends and family as well as in the education system. Some of these lessons are very costly, why make the younger generations learn these same lessons the hard way? Read more>>

Jenna Arvelo

I would change so much of the established model of education we have today. Most of us are in agreement that the educational system specifically in the US have been declining in value in terms of critical thought, skill building and a true telling of history and the ways of the world. We see this in the increasing list of banned books, the erasure of black history in discourse and the overall goal to push students to the margins of passing exams and nothing more than that. So our expectations for our students today are to be nothing more than good workers. Our society needs much more than that. We need visionaries and empathetic leaders who exemplify new ways of thinking about a more just and equitable world. Read more>>

Yaritza Villalba

When I was younger, I would come home from school and my sister, who is four years older, would spark a game of “school”. Where she would act like the teacher, and I would learn all the materials and skills she was learning. I would always return the next day wanting to learn more. The reason for this was because she made learning exciting. She filled the experience with joy, laughter and the material were always bite- sized and just right for me to comprehend and make connections. Read more>>

 Jeremiah Adams

In this day and age, traditional learning environments need to change. My school experience from elementary school to middle school consisted of a lecture style environment where students sat in rows and listened to whatever lesson plans teachers created for a particular subject. The classrooms were dark and dated, which did not feel inviting for students to learn. After a week or more of those lectures, students were tested on the information. This process was applied to every subject. Because of this, I often found myself overwhelmed and unmotivated at the end of the school day, only to be left with homework that I felt did not add purpose to my life or career. Teachers’ means of delivery was dull, too quick and often left me wanting more explanation. Projects were interactive and exciting, but did not seem relevant. Read more>>