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.

Maria Medina

If I could change one thing about the educational system, especially in the interior design field, it would be to focus more on the business side of things. While we’re taught the latest design software and how to use our creativity in a structured, logical way, what’s often missing is education on how to actually run a design business and find the right clients. Historically, since the 17th century, designers were essential figures, often working closely with royalty and managing their own businesses. In fact, entrepreneurship was born out of the design industry. Yet today, our educational system somehow neglects to equip us with the skills and knowledge needed to manage that side of the profession. Read more>>

Hahson Askew

Recently I’ve been afforded the opportunity to work with some amazing kids, this opportunity, being 3-4 weeks in has inspired me in so many ways. It’s helping me become a better parent to my kid Leo also. So first and foremost I believe in providing more opportunities for people such as myself and others, also having the right people in certain positions that can allow us more opportunities and this is regardless of race and ethnicity, gender and religion. There’s an amazing amount of diversity among staff as well as the kids, so we can clearly see a collective of kids who are different in the sense of race, ethnicity, religion and gender, all operating with amazing abilities, learning and interacting with each other as one. Read more>>

James Fontana

I don’t have children yet, but I have plenty of friends and family members that are my age or older with children. And the stories they tell me are a bit shocking. I tried to corroborate their stories with the internet and it seems to match up. The public school system is failing in this country. Children are consistently acting out without proper consequences. Teachers are less prepared to teach and to handle these children. The USA is not even in the Top 10 in the world in education. As a country that holds itself in such high regard, that is simply not good enough. The way they teach math nowadays is backwards, they are dumbing it WAY down. What has happened with the education in this country? Read more>>

Gwendolyn Mcphail

I believe that we are steering children into specific careers too early in their lives. We also tend to tell students that if they find the “right job” they’ll find happiness rather than helping them understand that all jobs may have “good days and bad days.” As a former teacher, I can’t tell you how many middle-school aged girls I taught early in my career wanted to be marine biologists when they were in the 7th grade. By the time they reached high school, their career choices were as varied as the stars. It so happened that the seventh grade science curriculum included a very exciting section on marine biology that showed “scientists” swimming with whales and sharks. Read more>>

David Wildkress

Our current factory-model education system has myriad design problems. If we were to bring together all the greatest minds in education, design, and business to build a world-class education system from the ground up, they would never design the system we have. There is too much to go into, and I would change just about everything, but I will focus on the emphasis on content acquisition. Most classes are focused on learning information. Foundational skills are taught along the way, but the focus is on content. One of the many changes I would make is to focus school on foundational skills rather than content acquisition. There are many ways to do this from a curricular standpoint, but this is a core problem that needs to be addressed. Read more>>

Sandra Possing

Our education system needs a lot of work. I believe it’s outdated and not at all inclusive of people with different learning styles and neurodiversity. So many students do not necessarily thrive in an environment where they are expected to sit still, be quiet, and just listen for eight hours a day, memorizing information in order to do well on tests. We should better support students who need to sit less and move more, who learn best by being more hands on, etc. Also, while math and science and reading comprehension are important, we fail at equipping most young people with crucial life skills, such as personal finance, emotional intelligence, and effective communication.  Read more>>

Christine Hubal

I truly feel that the current education curriculum is sorely lacking in “life skills”. The introduction of computers and ipads is such a two-edged sword; the world is at their fingertips and and the education is spoonfed with little or no effort on their part. Cursive writing has gone by the wayside and touch typing is considered a dinosaur method. Texting with two thumbs, abbreviated words and autocorrect has changed communication forever, not to mention the distraction of having a cell phone during classes. Home Economics taught us sewing, cooking, budgeting and home management. Shop classes opened up the world of all things construction at a young age. Personally, one of the most beneficial classes I took in highschool was called Vocational Office Education. The classroom was set up as an office. Read more>>

Jason Garvin

The education system we have now is good at teaching students the facts, the basic knowledge in their field of study, but rarely how to use it or what to expect in the real world. This leaves a lot of students lost when they graduate. Many students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree don’t find a job in their field, and even when they do, the work can be wildly different from their time in school. It’s overwhelming, and confusing, and we could be preparing students better. I went through this myself when I graduated. In my third year of college, I started to have doubts about my major. Psychology was interesting, but I didn’t think I wanted to pursue graduate school or work in a lab, and there was little else I could do with my degree. This realization had only recently dawned on me. On top of that, it was too late to change my major without staying in school for another 1-2 years past my expected graduation date, and I’d be out of financial aid by then. Read more>>

Alicia J Moore

There is an educational progression starting from learning to read, to then reading to learn, to then learning to learn critically and enhance your learning, and finally to implementing your enhanced learning. It’s in the latter two categories that I think we could make huge improvements. There is a HUGE gap between what students learn in high school and the skills that they’ll need to make the most out of their college journey, and life…Effective communication skills, basic financial literacy, time management skills, frameworks for how to make decisions–the educational system could include (and strengthen) many life skills that would help students be prepared to take ownership of their higher education journey, and life! I’d love to see enhanced curriculum to prepare our students with enhanced life skills. Read more>>