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.

Avital Kushilevich

I believe that there is a lot of conditioning and pressure around who we should be vs doing what really feels good to us. I would change how and what students learn, giving the student more autonomy to explore their passions and find fulfilling work sooner than later. Also just the whole culture and mindset needs to shift. I felt a lot of pressure from my parents to go to college and do something that makes me good money – but at the age of 18, I had no idea what I really wanted to do. I would have preferred to take a year off and just go travel so I could learn about myself, learn independence, expand my view of life and consciousness. I ended up in college for 7 years because I switched my major 3 times and now do something that I didn’t really need college for, I learned everything on the job and real life experiences. Read more>>

Cynthia Vivar

Any change that I would like to see in the educational system is what I strive to provide as an educator myself. I am a believer in providing solutions and being the change that I wish to see in any aspect of my life, especially the educational realm. For years, many people have criticized the educational system and especially their School Counselors for not being supportive, or caring, or invested in their students. However, I was lucky to have the opposite experience- my school counselor inspired me to achieve academic and post-secondary success. This led me to become motivated academically, and inspired me to pay that motivating energy forward to the younger generations. Read more>>

Lynn Beck

When we separated church and public school, I believe that we threw the baby out with the bath water in terms of removing discussions and teaching moments around values, morals and helping students find their purpose. In our age of social media, students are inundated with messages of consumerism and are judged and valued for superficial traits, and we haven’t done enough to counter balance these messages. When I researched the young men who became school shooters for my play, “All American,” I found that many of them left messages behind that said “help me.” A high school counselor told me that many male high school students feel entitled, but also that their lives have no meaning and no purpose. Read more>>

Zemorah Yisrael

As someone who experienced many different cultures and communities at a young age, I’ve noticed that there are a variety of things that we can incorporate into the educational system to prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career. From about the age of 8, I had this goal of getting good grades so that I could go to a good college and get a good job, to make a lot of money to live a good life. It wasn’t until I became the Valedictorian and had the option to go to a “dream” college my senior year in high school that I realized that I wanted more out of life. At this point, what could “more” look like? To most of my peers around me, I already had “life figured out”. Though, the whole time I was striving to get good grades in school, there was always this deep desire that I had to actually live my life. I wanted adventure. I wanted to explore the world. Overall, I wanted to follow my dreams. And choosing my own path has allowed me to do so freely. Read more>>

Nina Torres

In the past 10 years, I have traveled to various school districts to provide college information and resources. As a California non-profit leader, I have always firmly believed in partnering with families and the community, particularly non-profits and community-based organizations. An example of a strong tool is the California Cradle- to-Career-Data System. The system began its development in the fall of 2021. It is a data system tool that will be used to help a vast network of folx to find resources and information for better outcomes and results for students. This includes students and families, such as exploring how to plan, apply, and pay for college, streamlining the college and financial aid process, and monitoring the status of college and financial aid applications. Read more>>

Sophia DeSantis

I think our current educational system is flawed in many ways. Overall, access to the same level of education for all communities and socioeconomic levels is not there. I was a teacher for 14 years, the first year I taught in a very low income areas, I made my own products and games and supplies. I then moved to a very high performing district, I was given everything and a budget to buy what I needed. The parent support was huge in the higher district. The parents in the low district were farm workers, essential works, and worked as much as possible to make ends meet. They had no time to support the school. Read more>>

Stephanie King

I would definitely get rid of standardized testing. Some students don’t test well even though they know the material. It’s something about the word “test” that brings about a sense of nervousness and anxiousness which is understandable. Think about when you are preparing for a test at a physician’s office and the nerves you feel that ultimately affect your test results. I believe preparing students for life after school is important. If we are going to express to them the importance of getting a good education to be able to provide for themselves, we also need to equip them with information about budgeting and how to handle that kind of financial responsibility. Read more>>

Jay Williams

There’s plenty that has to change in Education but I’ll do my best to keep it brief. Finding one’s purpose in life is essentially one of the most important things they can do and the educational system should play an integral role in supporting that. However, I do believe that there are multiple ways to arrive at the destination of success, however you see it. As a former middle school teacher, I recognized my students already feeling the pressures from families, parents and caregivers about their futures. Read more>>

Revida Rahman

As a Co-Founder of One WillCo, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, we have experienced inequity in education for students of color and wanted to create a collaborative relationship with our school district to help to make our awesome district even better for ALL students. What started for 5 families at an elementary school about field trips to the plantation for social purposes in 2018 ended up creating a movement for equity for students of color. We quickly recognized through the Civil Rights data for our district that our reported “10 racial incidents” was inaccurately reported, as I knew plenty of black and brown kids experiencing racism at school on a regular basis. Read more>>

Tamany Hall

Prior to starting my business, I taught 8th grade math for 4 years and then transitioned into Coaching Teachers for 2 years. My title was “21st Century Cross Curricular Coach” and I focused on supporting teachers to incorporate growth of the 4 Cs in their lesson plans: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication. The premise behind my role was that technology and artificial intelligence are developing at such a rapid rate that we have no way of knowing what skills our young learners will need in 5…10…15 years! Therefore, we need to be focusing on developing young adults who can look at a problem and solve it. Read more>>

Danielle Harris

I think it’s fair to pinpoint something my specific school did well and something I think it, and many schools, need to work on. First, what I appreciate about my program. My design program was competitive, meaning, you had to complete an entire first year of design school and related art courses before you could apply to the Graphic Arts degree program. Each year 16 of 75ish applicants got in. Lucky for me, I was accepted and once I graduated, I went on to have a really fun, enriching and life-changing career. However, doors opened for me not just because I was a decent designer, but because of the specific skills I acquired due to the hard work it required to get in my program. Read more>>

Kenya Sade

What I would change about the education system is allowing more inclusivity (specifically regarding high school). What I mean by that is allowing children to grow up being exactly what they want to be regardless of the stigma around it. Growing up we were always taught to become lawyers, doctors, police officers. What about painters, electricians, fashion stylist and more “unconventional” careers? We’re taught that if you aren’t trying to become a doctor or lawyer then you’re wasting your time, but who are we to decide what anyone should be doing with their time? Read more>>

Jessica Brant

I believe integrating financial literacy into the educational curriculum can empower students to make informed decisions about money, budgeting, and investments, setting them up for a more secure future. When I was in school I was not taught financial literacy so life experiences help me learn what and what not to do financially. It’s true that life experiences can provide valuable lessons in financial matters. However, incorporating financial literacy into education can equip individuals with essential skills and knowledge earlier on, potentially helping them avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions from the start. Read more>>

Arden Haley

Less book work and more hands on experiences to help guide students into figuring out what he/she is most passionate about. My passion for photography sparked in high school from an after school photography club that only consisted of about 4-5 other students. From there, my photography skills continue to develop. Read more>>

Allen Pursley-Ramirez

I personally hated the experience of the public education system. I was a gay, neurodivergent kid in the 80s and 90s in Mesquite, TX. I was great at the core subjects, but a few subjects interested me more than others. Calculus? Chemistry? No, thanks. Technology & Computer Sciences? Yes, please!! Instead of teaching life skills in school, like “How to balance a checkbook” or “what do you need to know about credit, the cost to borrow and credit scores” we were being made to learn about advanced mathematics that we may use one day if we decide to become advanced physicists. Read more>>