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.

Karen Matthews

Thank you for this important question. I believe students today would greatly benefit by having more options than just college. Vocational education should be offered in high school, but not just starting then, kids should have exposure all throughout public school starting from the beginning. Vocational careers need to be discussed with the same level of respect that college degrees are. Read more>>

Natalie Jean Paul

In today’s world, education is considered to be the foundation of a successful life. However, traditional education systems often ignore teaching children important life skills such as managing money, taxes, and credit. It is crucial that we change the educational system to ensure that children learn these essential life skills before they make mistakes. Firstly, children must understand the importance of managing money. Read more>>

Elise Fender

We need our education system to produce authors and creative writers. There are the obvious answers for fixing the education system to produce more creatives: less focus on testing, more funding for the arts. But, if I could wave a magic wand that would produce the future great American writers it would be this: higher pay for teachers. Read more>>

Robert Campos

I would emphasize the financial education we all need to learn most of the times the hard way when we grow up. I belive having the proper education with finances will absolutley change our approach to money and the importance on how to manage limited resources. I’ve seen a lot of families, couples, friends and so on…struggle with money and have a hard time managing their lives the way they pictured it to be someday. Read more>>

Voodo Fé

I believe that the removal of art from school is limiting the exercise of the creative brain and limiting the opportunities for a creative child to improve their families economics with their art. My team and I are working on a program that’ll put art back into school and get it protected legislatively called ColorCalm. Our goal is to use data from color and image theory to prove how art and other creative forms affect our stress, learning and self improvement. Read more>>

Joe McNeil

It’s okay not to check all the boxes; it is okay to fail and make mistakes. It is also okay to embark on a less conventional path, diverging from the mainstream. Often, I observe high school graduates enrolling in college simply because everyone else is doing it, without a clear sense of their life’s direction. Four years later, they find themselves burdened with $200k in debt and no closer to pursuing their true passions. Read more>>

Candace Boggan

Let me first start by saying this. I know that educators are overwhelmed (large class sizes in inner city schools), largely underpaid (in both the public and private sectors) and that there are various challenges from district to district (city to city) which prohibit or limit what educators are able to accomplish due to lack of resources, issues at home (with students), limited parental support, other classroom restrictions, etc. Read more>>

Filippe Art

Well, actually I already changed! In my area, which is tattooing, many people spend years just learning the theory part and I already choose to teach my students a lot of practice so that they feel and train as much as possible on artificial skin. Another very important point and worth remembering is that I also include another part in my teaching schedule, which is about customer service. Read more>>

Danielle Williams

I would change the structure of the typical classroom. I’ve worked in private school education and I’ve volunteered in our local public school as well. One thing they both have in common are desks, square desks which sometimes take up more space in the rooms. Some desks have legs that are off balanced or not high enough for the tall students. As a creative, I think it would help to change that. Read more>>

Kya Buggs

I would change some of the curriculum being taught in the education system today. I think it’s important that we set our kids up the best we can so they can be able to survive as an adult. I would make it a requirement for students to learn more about credit history, filing their taxes, becoming homeowners etc. Read more>>

Willie Sanders Jr

In my opinion educational system, like most large public institutions, is slow in adopting change. As a result, our rapidly changing society is leaving the old way of educating students in the dust. Modern youth and adults can’t be taught and trained the same way the were 100 years ago….or even 25 years ago. To connect with learners and truly engage with them we have to evolve our teaching practices so that they align with the things that engage and inspire the learners of this era. This is especially true if you’re a technology educator like me. Read more>>

Justin Li

My business partner and I both have four year degrees. I went to George Washington and he went to Stanford. However, now, as employers and start-up founders, there is no way we would ever go to college if we had it to do over again. The reason is simple: the return on investment is quite horrific. Four year colleges and universities equip students with almost zero valuable skills. Read more>>

Trenisha Webster

I would change the whole curriculum. School curriculum doesn’t prepare our students for the future aspects of life that adults go through. I didn’t learn much about credit, financial security, entrepreneurship, taxes or coding until I became an adult and taught myself. Read more>>