Our children are our future. Education is at the heart at developing their skills and abilities and yet year after year we hear about the degrading state of our educational system. Our nation has spent trillions of dollars on failed programs that research and experts had promised would work. Achievement gaps persist, performance declines are accelerating and so it is of paramount importance that we explore novel ideas and solutions. You might not agree with many or any of the ideas below, and we certainly are not endorsing policies – our hope is just to create a space where bright, dedicated folks from the community can share their ideas – so that we can all come together and better understand each others experiences, concerns and how we might move forward together to build a brighter future.

Madeline Edwards

In my entrepreneurial pursuit, I’ve grown passionate about redefining success. I’ve discovered strengths and finally uncovered gifts of mine that the education system failed to acknowledge. I’d love to see an individual approach develop within the current program. As individuals, we inhibit such vast strengths; one size fits all testing and curriculum fails more students than it should. I’ hope to see alternative learning styles offered to broaden the horizon. It’s an incredible and opportune time to evolve. Read more>>

Tanisha charron

I’m a strong believer that our education system does our students a disservice in preparing them for the real world. In my personal experience after graduating high school and going off to college I quickly became in debt with credit cards, payday loans etc. Financial literacy was something that I was never taught, things such as balancing a check book or understanding how filing taxes work was just something I didn’t have the luxury of being exposed to at home or school. Read more>>

Wes Barlow

I believe that the music education sector would benefit from a slightly more creative approach to teaching music. From personal experience, I believe that majority of the traditional orchestral programs often leave students in a box of only playing orchestra without trying to be inclusive or paying thought to other available genres or uses for the stringed instruments. If the students have not played their instruments in any other settings, upon graduation there are limited possibilities for them to continue playing unless they are seated in an orchestra. Read more>>