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.

Michelle Bongirno

I think if we allowed kids to pick multiple interests when they were younger they could find their passions and strengths earlier in life. Everyone has a different way of learning than the normal structure although others thrive in that environment. I am one of the people that didn’t always thrive in such a structure setting. Read more >>

Tamrin Ingram

I’m going into my 7th year as an educator. I started out teaching adjunct photography courses at the University of Arizona, once the pandemic began I moved back home to rural Louisiana and taught 4th and 7th grade ELA for a year, then I taught two years of high school english and photoshop, and now I’m teaching the high school equivalency exam class at a small community college, as well as adjuncting an intro to visual arts course at another community college… that being said I am no expert when it comes to education, but I do have more than a few opinions. Read more >>

Gueston Smith

The current model of cramming students into generic classrooms with the outdated educational system is failing our youth. We need learning environments that ignite curiosity, creativity, and innovation. Read more >>

Michelle Porjes

I see many children who are bright and verbal but are not successful at school. The have the capabilities but they don’t really know how to manage their time, stuff, and information. So they do work in an inefficient way and either don’t do as well as they could or do well but are highly stressed. Read more >>

Lauren Butler

ARTS, ARTS, ARTS! It seems each year we cut funding for arts programs more and more. Arts careers are dwindling or just seen as a hobby, and because of the lack of job prospects, arts are simply not seen as an important part of the curriculum in our schools or in higher ed. Professional theaters are closing, too. So not only can kids not participate in the arts as an extracurricular, they can’t even go see a play. Read more >>

Madeline Sandler

Without a doubt, the arts should play a huge role in education from start to finish. Growing up in public schools, I felt that art was something we did in kindergarten and first grade and then as we got older, far more emphasis is put on our grades and performance in math, science and language arts. I personally did not revisit art as an elective until I was a junior in highschool. Read more >>

Chardé Diamond

Sciences such as Cosmetology & Production are my specialties and what i believe to be the most valuable courses a place of education can offer. I was introduced to arts young. By my family first, then a school. Constantly braiding, crafting , traveling, innovating, entertaining and watching action movies. My Grandma even had an encyclopedia in the house. I was literal and Dramatic from birth. Read more >>

Thomas George

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with school. On the one hand, there’s nothing more profoundly fulfilling than learning for the sake of learning, the issues start arising when we need to commodify and homogenize the learning process. Our education system has the impossible task of serving a vast, unique, and diverse set of students with a rigid curriculum and methodology that they need to uphold. Read more >>

David Cruz

As a small business owner, what would you change about the education system to prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career? Read more >>