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.

CRICKET BARRIENTOS

The Educational System has been the same for such a long time. We structure everything around the Majority within a Typical Society. We have left many populations behind. I believe people struggle to change, to find their creative side within and many like to be shown the way so they don’t have to do more than expected of them for whatever reason. I say this because even my son’s Special Education teachers have confirmed that Landon will graduate even if he does not understand or retain information so they will keep moving forward even if he lacks understanding. Why do we allow this and why have we set the system up this way? The end result will only lead to one place – a failing population. Read more>>

Nicolette De Marco

What I would change about the educational system is the narrow minded way it teaches students to define success. There is such an unyielding emphasis on the four year college path, that we’ve stigmatized all other options as being “less than”. The assumption that only people who aren’t smart enough to get into college become trade workers or artists is incredibly harmful to young people. Our society could not function without trades. To pretend otherwise is blatantly wrong. So why do we allow high schools to promote “all students college ready” and shame students into borrowing thousands in student loans for a degree and lifestyle they have no passion for. Read more>>

Devani Freeman

There is so much I would change! First off, the educational system was created in the industrial era to create factory workers that comply with orders. In order to serve our current generation on beyond – unique interest-led education needs to be favored. In addition, the most important topics of wisdom I believe are emotional intelligence, energetic intelligence, intuitive intelligence, body intelligence, Indigenous wisdom, nature and animal communication, technology and infrastructure, sustainability/regeneration, and life skills. These core areas are pivotal for where our world is advancing and the healing that needs to take place to come back to a place of harmony on the planet.  Read more>>

Carlos Ramos

I have been an educator for 17 years and a business owner for the past 12 years. In the past 5 years as a High School Culinary Arts Instructor I was able to combine both of my passions: Teaching and Restaurants. I was also able to discover that students need more guidance when it comes to explore different options for their higher education. Career and Technical Education (CTE) offers them just that: a different option to a 5-year College future. The best way we can prepare students for a fulfilling life and career is precisely by allowing them to explore their options at an earlier stage, perhaps as early as middle school. Read more>>

Christina Ng

The educational system would definitely benefit by integrating opportunities to engage in life skills training in areas such as cooking and gardening. Though a typical school day may already be packed to the gills with standard curriculum, surely there must be an opportunity to allow for a guest speaker, a field trip, or an afterschool class or club in which students could interact in a kitchen and immerse in a food culture with fresh, nutritious food at the helm. I believe that a well fed and well informed student truly has the edge when it comes to mental stability, ability and clarity. Having a foundational understanding of food and nutrition has a direct correlation with performance and I feel that messaging should be front and center as students are progressing from school into their careers. Read more>>

Rick Fowler

have been in education (secondary and post-secondary) for over 10 years. I’ve taught in public, private, for-profit, and non profit industries. Currently I spend most of my time teaching high school students how to create awesome creative, informative, and exciting projects after school via video, audio, graphics, and photography production. Many of my students are enrolled in Film/TV, Journalism, and/or Photography classes at their high school. Then after school a couple days a week, they work with me. I get a lot of time to really get to know these students despite my program being virtual since the plague hit in Dumpster Fire Year, 2020. High schoolers get super chatty when they are speaking with someone they can trust. Read more>>

Jonathan Brimer

I believe we need to bridge the gap between public education and the private sector. It seems that kids are not learning the essentials like how to prepare a resume, how to conduct oneself in an interview, how to search for the right jobs, or even how to prepare for personal finances. The private sector is often lumped into one big perception: greedy capitalists. But what if we were able to leverage all of the great things about our free enterprise system and teach young people – especially underprivileged young people, that innovation should be rewarded. As should showing up to an interview prepared – even if it’s just an hourly job! Having entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, all creeds come into the public school system and share their stories would be transformational. Read more>>

John Bennardo

This may come off as more of a rant, but the real problem with our educational system is the low pay for teachers. I’ve always said that teachers should get paid like politicians, while politicians should get paid like teachers. Why? Because teachers are doing the more important job. If you paid teachers more, there would be more people seeking those jobs, and only the truly qualified would earn those positions (and rise to the top), as opposed to what we have now, which is a school system seeking warm bodies just to have someone in a classroom. Educating our youth and preparing them to be positive factors for our future cannot be understated; we need good people to lead them, and we will get more of that if we pay educators what they deserve. Read more>>

George Woodard

The educational system doesn’t teach children to become functional adults; they only teach them to become workers. What I would implement more in the educational system is more soft skills development. I think there is an assumption that having children in a specific environment will render soft skills, but that’s further from the truth. They should be taught or educated about things like emotional intelligence or effectively resolving conflict. I also think that teaching them more life management skills such as credit and home buying should be mandatory. Many people in my generation (born in 1985; Millennials) had to learn much of these skills through trial and error. Read more>>

Doug Caris

I would change the narrative of pushing all high school students to go to college. While I do feel that college is beneficial and a necessity for many professions, I also don’t think it’s a necessity for anyone to become successful. I would include a lot more life skills and courses in high school that teach high schoolers how to start, operate, & run a profitable business. Another change I would make would be for all high school graduates to have to work for two years before going to college. This would give them a better idea of what career path they want to go into and if a college degree is necessary for them. Read more>>

DARREL McPherson

Our schools need more art to foster the creative aspect of education. I have found my clients in art include scientist, doctors and lawyers all who use problem solving skills on a daily basis. Art reaches out to people in more ways than simple decoration it expresses the values we hold and reflects the wonders of civilization. Read more>>

Maxine Gomez

We currently focus on where a child is failing rather than where they could be thriving. By getting to know a person, what motivates them, and their core values allows us to place an individual in a role where they will be fulfilled and productive because they can do what they are good at. It is like our team, initially we hired people to fill a role, now we nurture the strengths of our team members and grow with them in the roles they excel. One good change that came about during the last few years was that you did not have to wait to learn a new skill, more classes became available online so no matter where you are, you can learn. Read more>>