In Defense of a Liberal Education

"If Americans are united in any conviction these days, it is that we urgently need to shift the country’s education toward the teaching of specific, technical skills. Every month, it seems, we hear about our children’s bad test scores in math and science — and about new initiatives from companies, universities or foundations to expand STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and math) and deemphasize the humanities...This dismissal of broad-based learning, however, comes from a fundamental misreading of the facts — and puts America on a dangerously narrow path for the future. The United States has led the world in economic dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship thanks to exactly the kind of teaching we are now told to defenestrate. A broad general education helps foster critical thinking and creativity. Exposure to a variety of fields produces synergy and cross fertilization..." (read full article on Washington Post)
-- Read Why America’s obsession with STEM education is dangerous by Zakaria
-- Buy Zakaria's book In Defense of a Liberal Education


World News Videos | US News Videos

Let's teach kids to code

We have already posted this TED talk, but we believe it is worth doing it again, as it perfectly builds upon our last post.
"Young people today have lots of experience and lots of familiarity with interacting with new technologies, but a lot less so of creating with new technologies and expressing themselves with new technologies. It's almost as if they can read but not write with new technologies."
Mitch Resnick, Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten program and LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research at MIT Media Lab, dedicates his research focus to helping kids of all ages tinker and experiment with design. He and his team develop new interfaces to help students engage with technology, in a way that encourages them to create and experiment the way we did in kindergarten with paint. Some of Resnick's projects include Scratch, which helps young users learn to code, and the Computer Clubhouse, an international network of creative afterschool programs for underpriveleged students. In this TED presentation he outlines the benefits of teaching kids to code, so they can do more than just “read” new technologies — but also create them. When we first enter primary school, we spend our days creating, painting, building, experimenting creatively with form and shape. But what happens after that first year? Why doesn't the creativity continue?
-- Go to Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age blog post
-- Read Learn to Code, Code to Learn
-- Read Kids coding at school: 'When you learn computing, you're thinking about thinking'

Stop Teaching Calculating, Start Learning Maths!

"We've got a real problem with math education right now. Basically, no one's very happy. Those learning it think it's disconnected, uninteresting and hard. Those trying to employ them think they don't know enough"
This might seem totally off topic for our blog, but in this world of connections, we think that this talk touches upon an important issue, the need for 21st century education to be relevant in today's world.
In this presentation Conrad Wolfram discusses how re-conceptualized maths in education can step up to real-world needs. The importance of maths to jobs, society and thinking has exploded over the last few decades, but maths education fails to match-up. Why has this chasm opened up? Computers are central: when they do the calculating, people work on harder questions, try more concepts, and play with a multitude of new ideas. Conrad explains why this fundamental shift is needed in education, and  presents his radical idea: teaching kids math through computer programming.
Conrad Wolfram runs the worldwide arm of Wolfram Research, the mathematical lab behind the cutting-edge knowledge engine Wolfram Alpha.
-- Watch Conrad TED talk Teaching kids real math with computers

From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able

"I believe very strongly in students being able to read and write very well, but I think we need to expand what we mean by reading and writing to include these new media forms. And we need a level of media literacy that includes a sophistication about how to use what media form, why, when and also when to shut it all and have a moment to really think through it all properly."
Today a new medium of communication emerges every time somebody creates a new web application. Yet these developments are not without disruption and peril. Familiar long-standing institutions, organizations and traditions disappear or transform beyond recognition. And while new media bring with them new possibilities for openness, transparency, engagement and participation, they also bring new possibilities for surveillance, manipulation, distraction and control. Critical thinking, the old mainstay of higher education, is no longer enough to prepare our youth for this world. We must create learning environments that inspire a way of being-in-the-world in which they can harness and leverage this new media environment as well as recognize and actively examine, question and even re-create the (increasingly digital) structures that shape our world (from youtube)
Michael Lee Wesch is an associate professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University. Wesch's work also includes media ecology and the emerging field of digital ethnography, where he studies the effect of new media on human interaction. Dubbed “the prophet of an education revolution” by the Kansas City Star and “the explainer” by Wired Magazine, Wesch is a recipient of the highly coveted “US Professor of the Year” Award (2008) from the Carnegie Foundation.
A MUST WATCH.
-- Read about Michael on Mediated Cultures - Digital Ethnology @ Kansas State University
-- Other two excellent presentations by Michael: Toward a New Future of “Whatever” and
The Tragedy Of Our Times
-- Read How the Internet has changed us and why we must change how we educate our youth

An Inconvenient Youth

"Climate change is a horribly abstract, big, scary and overwhelming issue. But if we share stories about our own lives in regards to climate change that are personal and heartfelt, we can make this climate crisis a more human story and one of the heart — not just numbers on a page. If we can do that, then maybe the general viewpoint will be one of excitement at changing the world for the better and not one of fear or greed" - Slater Jewell-Kemker
An Inconvenient Youth captures the vibrant though under-reported story of the global youth climate movement. For too long, young people - the very people whose lives will be most affected by the consequences of climate change - have been, condescended to, or just plain ignored by governments, corporations, mainstream media and UN negotiators (source Wild and Scenic Film Festival)
An Inconvenient Youth doesn’t question data that’s universally accepted by climate scientists, so it’s not a documentary filled with graphs and numbers. It’s a film that focuses on the hearts and dreams of young people who have devoted themselves to change – to a sustainable future (source here)
-- Read 'An Inconvenient Youth' Tells The Truth About Climate Change on Forbes

Growing minds by growing school gardens

When Laurie Brekke and Hope Hanlon created the learning garden for Atlantic Highlands Elementary School, they assumed it would be embraced with open arms: a gift; an outdoor playground to be used as a hands-on teaching tool, incorporating everything from science to the arts. However, teachers have too much to accomplish and structure became king. Over time and growing classroom sizes, play became secondary and the teachers were unsure about how the garden could help them. But children knew, and while their teachers may have forgotten how to let go of structure and have fun, their students taught them the most valuable lesson of all..there is so much more to learn in a school garden than just gardening (source: youtube)
-- Visit GoSprouts.org
-- Watch How to Start a School Garden
-- Visit SEED - School Earth Education
-- Read School Gardens Blooming Teach Lessons On Nutrition, Environment, Science, Teamwork

Beyond Ecophobia

"If we want children to flourish, we need to give them time to connect with nature and love the Earth before we ask them to save it" - David Sobel
Educators are agents for change, and change is needed now. Our current way of life is not sustainable. What is required to achieve sustainability is a paradigm shift, and that can only be effected through education. Educating for Sustainability (EFS) is about helping people learn how to meet their needs without compromising future generations abilities to meet their needs.
David Sobel is an education writer who has helped in developing the philosophy of place-based education. He has written extensively on the topic in books and numerous articles. He is currently a Core Faculty member and Director of Certificate Programs at Antioch University New England. -- Visit UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
-- Read Beyond Ecophobia by David Sobel on Yes!
-- Watch TED talk by Ben Klasky Get hooked on nature

A Simple Question

A Simple Question is a documentary produced, directed and written by David Donnefield and Kevin White, that looks at a remarkable program bringing together school children and their teachers with community groups and agencies to undertake habitat restoration on privately-owned ranch land. It all started more than 21 years ago when Laurette Rogers, a fourth grade teacher, showed a film on endangered species to her class. Stricken by the weight of species extinction, one student plaintively asked what he and his class mates could do to save endangered species. That simple question, innocent yet profound, ignited something in Laurette that launched her and her class on an inspired voyage of discovery and transformation.
-- Read about the project on Point Blue
-- Go to Natural Heroes free Educational Resources

Importance of Environmental Education

"Many of today’s school–reform initiatives threaten to create “reform schools,”those places where we used to send delinquent youth. These were basically lock–ups, offering education behind bars with an emphasis on strict discipline and rote memorization. Similarly, the cultural literacy and high–stakes standards movements threaten to lock the school doors and throw away the key…Instead, we need a school–reform model that focuses on the principle of sustainability—figuring out how to live within our means at both a local and global level" —David Sobel
The Green Schools Initiative is a mostly volunteer effort that aims to provide the tools to help make US schools healthier and more ecologically sustainable places. They believe it is essential to protect children's health - at school and in the world beyond school - and work to catalyze and support. According to their Report  “The Little Green Schoolhouse”, research shows that schools that adopt an environmental focus demonstrate better academic performance across the curriculum and that environmental education helps build creative thinking and relationship skills, and fosters leadership qualities. They give many suggestions that fall within the broad category "TEACH GREEN", which, as they say, it is probably the most important pillar of all.
-- Learn about The Four Pillars of A Green School
-- Browse RESOURCES on  Green Schools Initiative website

EARTH HOUR

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March, as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. Earth Hour 2015 will be today Saturday, March 28, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during participants' local time.
-- Read Suggestions for celebrating Earth Hour at School
-- Explore WWF - Schools for a Living Planet

What if students controlled their own learning?

As Principal of Templestowe College in Melbourne, Peter Hutton has developed an educational model that allows students to individualize their education and share control in the running of the school. Result? No bullying, collaboration, innovation in school dynamics.
-- Read Individual focus key to learning on the Sydney Morning Herald
-- Read Templestowe school in a class of its own on The Age

Bringing Music back to School

Little Kids Rock is a nonprofit organization that works with some of the most economically challenged school districts in the United States to rebuild and reintroduce music programs. Their mission is to build a world, through music, where kids can lead creative, rich, purposeful lives by ensuring that all public school children have the opportunity to unlock their inner music makers. They believe that that in order to keep kids in school, focused and out of trouble they must be engaged in music. Little Kids Rock was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2002 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school. Today, Little Kids Rock is one of the leading nonprofit providers of free lessons and instruments to underprivileged children in US public schools, and has served more than 300,000 students at over 1,700 schools in 25 cities nationwide. Little Kids Rock Honorary Board Members include Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Steven Van Zandt, Carlos Santana, Ziggy Marley and more.
This is cool.

Immersed in Creativity Touring Exhibition

Partnering with major museums in Taiwan and abroad, Quanta Culture & Education Foundation has created its "Immerse in creativity touring exhibition", a mobile museum project for junior high and elementary school students. Making use of replicas, exhibitions can be displayed in remote villages and schools located in outlying islands. By integrating aspects of art and culture into school curriculums and forming partnerships with local communities, the Foundation is able to establish a multicultural platform that promotes lifelong learning. Moreover, exhibitions also foster creative ways of teaching while encouraging students to think outside the box and share their ideas, greatly enhancing their communication skills. Welcome to creative education.

What is A Creative Education

"Most schools are concentrated on learning to know, getting some knowledge and a few technical skills and this is not enough in education. We have got to help young people discover who they are, what their potential is, to have the independence and autonomy to believe in their capacity to make a difference in the world and to learn to live with other people" 
Chief Executive of international NGO Creativity, Culture & Education Paul Collard explains the importance of a creative education and the need to involve artists in future education.
The International Creative Education Network (ICEnet) is a worldwide network that aims to connect artists and creative professionals to improve the quality of practice and to provide opportunities for cooperation. It focuses on the unique role that creative professionals play in the development of creative skills in children and young people.
-- Watch 2012 Collard's keynote speech : "What Is A Creative Education And Why Is It Important"
-- Read "Assessing Creativity in Education" by Paul Collard
-- Watch Paul's Creative Curriculum programme in Pakistan schools

Fostering Creativity in Education

Julia Gillard, Australia's former Prime Minister and Board Chair of the Global Partnership for Education talks about creativity and the need to inspire young people to discover their passions and follow them. In today's changing world where the need to constantly reinvent ourselves is becoming imperative, there is a global quest to foster problem-solving skills and resilience, and enhance creative abilities. However, achieving universal primary education remains a top priority, since creativity becomes relevant once literacy and numeracy skills have been attained. She believes that only when we’ve covered the basics, we can then focus on expanding children’s imagination and boost their professional development ambitions. “What really matters in the long term is having a sense of purpose and passion.” (source: WISE)

Creativity at the Crossroads

"If we want to prepare a new generation of creative thinkers, inventors and entrepreneurs, we need to prepare our students to see patterns, and shapes and connections. and what better way to do that than inserting the arts as essential part of our life and civilization"
Before she started building the Cade MUSEum for Creativity and Invention, Phoebe Miles travelled the world with her husband and 3 kids and became fascinated by the unique responses each child had to different educational systems. She thinks that if we want to increase the number of problem-solving young people in the world, then we must return to the model of classical Greek education, that valued building creative connections in all subjects, using the arts as a primary means of tying together scientific subjects. While the Greeks believed that the arts were essential for stimulating creative scientific breakthroughs in mathematics and astronomy, modern education, in contrast, places the arts in the category of harmless diversion. This despite studies that show that many scientists, among which Nobel Prize Winners, attribute their breakthroughs to their training in the arts. It's time to talk about STEAM instead of STEM and usher in a new Renaissance of creativity.

Music gives Second Chance

Locally known as favelas, slums of Rio de Janero are often rife with crime and are largely controlled by criminal organizations. Growing up in such a world, children are often pulled into a life of criminality. But one non-governmental organization is trying to change that. With music and dance, Afroreggae is reaching out to local communities, in the hope of changing the trajectory of many of the area's young (source: Learning World)
-- Watch Washington Rimas @ TEDxVilaMadá (director of Cultural Afro Reggae, former drug dealer now helping to get young people out of trafficking)
-- Go to FAVELA RISING documentary

Art and Education

Art is vital to education opening up a rich world of creativity that can touch all aspects of learning. It's a form of expression that plays an undeniable role in our ability to develop, learn and grow. In this clip "Learning World" looks at the different ways that art affects people's experience of learning. They begin by exploring Design Factory in Helsinki (Finland), poetry in the Bronx (US), and then symphony in a favela (Brazil).
Learning World is a series of weekly TV programs on education developed in the framework of a partnership between WISE and Euronews.

Dear Students: An Apology From A Teacher

Dear High School Students in the 21st century, 

A new semester begins next week and I find myself feeling compelled to apologize to you. Despite our best efforts, we teachers have failed to persuade the people who have the political power to change our public education system, to do so. We can't seem to convince our premier that an investment in your education is an investment that we will all benefit from, an investment that would not cost us polluted water and toxic air. 
So, until your education needs prevail over the needs of foreign corporations, please accept this apology from me...I'm sorry that many of you who struggle to cope in school do not get any learning support because prevailing economic policy does not prioritize funding your needs. I'm sorry that you have to study subjects that you are not interested in at a time when the sum total of human knowledge is doubling every 12 months...I'm sorry that you have textbooks with outdated information and classroom technology that is not maintained and practically obsolete. I'm sorry that what is being called personalized learning is not actually personal at all. Truly personal learning costs too much, you understand?
I wish you had not had your curiosity crushed by classroom conformity. I wish I could wave a magic wand to give you the kind of school that would have spaces in which you could examine and explore, experiment and experience learning in diverse ways. I wish I had the power to re-ignite the passion for learning so evident in your eyes in the weeks before your first day of school...You were born to learn. You cannot not learn...
Lizanne Foster, who currently teaches in Surrey, British Columbia, became a teacher by accident in apartheid-era South Africa.
-- Read full letter AN APOLOGY FROM A TEACHER by Lizanne Foster on Huffpost BC
-- Read CHANGE FROM THE INSIDE on Lizanne's blog

Educational Inequality in England - Part 2

Peter Mortimore speaks about the strengths and weaknesses of English education and what England needs to do to tackle the perennial problem of educational inequality. He is a teacher and researcher and the former director of the Institute of Education, University of London. He is currently a professor at the University of Southern Denmark. Peter is also the author of "Education under Siege" where he considers the English education system as it is and as it might be.
-- Read Peter's Blog
-- Read Education Under Siege: Why There Is a Better Alternative by Peter Mortimore – REVIEW

Educational Inequality in England - Part 1

Finnish Educationalist Pasi Sahlberg explains why we should ignore the reform strategies put forward by successive British politicians who dismiss the potential lessons of Finish educational reform because of their ideological inconvenience. Sahlberg explains how equity results in higher educational outcomes and more equal educational opportunities for all children.
"GERM (Global Education Reform Movement) has emerged since the 1980s and has increasingly become adopted as a educational reform orthodoxy within many education systems throughout the world, including in the U.S., England, Australia and some transition countries. Tellingly, GERM is often promoted through the interests of international development agencies and private enterprises through their interventions in national education reforms and policy formulation...Since the 1980s, at least five globally common features of education policies and reform principles have been employed to try to improve the quality of education and fix the apparent problems in public education systems:
(1) Standardization of education (shifting the focus of attention to educational outcomes); (2) Focus on core subjects in school (at the expense of social studies, arts, music and physical education); (3) The search for low-risk ways to reach learning goals (minimizing experimentation + reducing use of alternative pedagogical approaches); (4) Use of corporate management models as a main driver of improvement (limits the role of national policy development and enhancement of an education system’s own capabilities to maintain renewal); (5) Test-based accountability policies for schools (linking success or failure of schools and teachers with standardized tests and external teacher evaluations). None of these elements of GERM have been adopted in Finland in the ways that they have within education policies of many other nations, for instance, in the United States and England. This, of course, does not imply that education standards, focus on basic knowledge and skills, or accountability should be avoided in seeking better educational performance. Nor does it suggest that these ideas were completely absent in education development in Finland. But, perhaps, it does imply that a good education system can be created using alternative approaches and policies orthogonal to those commonly found and promoted in global education policy markets...(from Pasi Sahlberg Blog: GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL REFORM MOVEMENT IS HERE!)
-- Watch Excellence and Equity by Sahlberg
-- Watch GERM that kills schools
-- Watch How Finland remains immune to the Global Educational Reform Movement
-- Read How GERM is infecting schools around the world on the Washington Post

CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO

What if Finland's Great Teachers Taught in Your Schools?

Many governments are under political and economic pressure to turn their school systems around for higher rankings in the international league tables. Canada, South Korea, Singapore and Finland are commonly used models for the nations that hope to improve teaching and learning in their schools. In search of a silver bullet, reformers now turn their attention to teachers, believing that if only they could attract "the best and the brightest" into the teaching profession the quality of education would improve. This presentation argued that just having better teachers in schools will not automatically improve students' learning outcomes. Lessons from Finland and other high-performing school systems suggest that we should also protect schools from prescribed teaching, toxic accountability, and unhealthy competition, so that all teachers can use their professional knowledge and skills in the best interests of their pupils (source: youtube)
Pasi Sahlberg is Finnish educator, author and scholar. He has worked as schoolteacher, teacher educator, researcher and policy advisor in Finland and has studied education systems and reforms around the world. He is also a visiting Professor of Practice at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, MA, USA.
World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) is an international, multi-sectoral and action-oriented platform for innovation in education.

Goodbye, math and history: new ideas from Finland

Finland already has one of the best school education systems that always ranks near the top in mathematics, reading, and science in the prestigious PISA rankings by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. But the country is not resting on its laurels. Finland is considering its most radical overhaul of basic education yet—abandoning teaching by subject for teaching by phenomenon. Traditional lessons such as English Literature and Physics are already being phased out among 16-year-olds in schools in Helsinki (source: QUARTZ)
-- Read Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its education system on the Independent
-- Read Finland to remove cursive handwriting from education curriculum

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Teachers and Schools

"I submit to you that the educational enterprise has to recognize that education is more than your assessment of students based on their performance on an exam. It has to do with what have you lit in them because at the end of the day it is their continued interest in a subject that is the true education of their life"
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City.
The first clip is taken from an event sponsored by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) as part of the Science Pub series. An audience member asks him what advice he would give to public school science educators and he responds criticizing the education system in America and explaining how the system has eviscerated all the passion, beauty, and joy out of learning. In the second clip he argues that the American school system is valuing the wrong things. His arguments deserve a general reflection. WELL SAID.

Educating for the 21st Century

"In the past you could assume, as a teacher, you would teach someone for their lifetime what you learn is school is going to last for many, many years. Today that's no longer the case. Today we need to educate people for jobs that have not been created, to use technologies that haven't been invented, to solve social and economic problems that we don't have any idea are going to arise. This is the fundamental challenge for education. And that requires a very different caliber of teachers. Teachers who are not just reproducing educating the reproduction of subject matter content but to help young people to extrapolate from what they know, to use and apply their knowledge in novel situations. In a nutshell, the world economy no longer pays you for what you know. Google knows everything. "
Andreas Schleicher  is Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In this interview he discusses how education can help students meet the challenges of today.
-- Read FIVE THINGS I'VE LEARNED - Andreas Schleicher
-- Watch Andreas' TED talk "Use data to build better schools"

RE:FRAMING EDUCATION

What will the shape of future learning look like? How are we changing learning to meet our new demands? How is learning changing us?
Donald Clark  has 30 years experience in online learning, games, simulations, social media and mobile learning projects and designed, delivered and advised on online learning for many global, public and private organisations. He is an evangelist for the use of technology in learning and has won many design awards, including the first 'Outstanding Achievement in E-learning Award'.
Donald believes that media sharing, social media, Wikipedia, games, open source etc. are ground breaking shifts in the way we learn, but unfortunately, they're not matched by the way we teach. The growing gap between teaching practice and learning practice is acute and growing. Institutional teaching, especially in Universities is hanging on to the pedagogic fossil that is the lecture. The true driver for positive, pedagogic change is the internet (source: youtube) -- INTERESTING.
-- Watch Donald's TED talk "More pedagogic change in 10 years than last 1000 years"

The Magic of Art

Yayoi Kusama‘s Obliteration Room is one of the more visually memorable collaborative museum projects in recent memory. Within it, children are invited to cover the white surfaces with dot stickers — from the walls, to the floor, to furniture, to pillows and teapots… anything — transforming the room into an explosion of colors and patterns as time passes. The installation has been invited to Asia, Europe, and South America since it was first commissioned by the Children’s Art Centre at Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art in 2002. The newest version is at GOMA until April 19, 2015 (source: The Kid Should See This)
-- Read about it on The Guardian
-- Go to interactive game "Kusama’s World of Dots"

The Magic of Music

In summer 2014, around 350 musicians of all kinds — “Young, older, professional drumlines, community marching bands, seasoned jazz players, Indian wedding band musicians, Brazilian samba drummers and scads of amateur players” — showed up on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn for a dynamic and unpredictable NPR Music Field Recording.
In a premiere and one-time-only event, this huge group of people performed “100+ BPM,” an original composition by Dhol drummer and composer Sunny Jain, commissioned by NPR Music for Make Music New York festival.
So what happens when 350 musicians meet for the first time? Pure brilliance. (source: The Kid Should See This)

Where ARTS and SCIENCE meet

"Whereas science through its objectivity and rigor distills the human being out of ideas, the arts reconstitute science to include human beings." 
Dr. Ainissa Ramirez is a science evangelist, an impassioned champion for science education. She has a Ph.D. in material science from Stanford University, worked at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and spent ten years as an associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale University. She has authored over 50 technical papers, co-written two books, and holds six patents. In her book Save Our Science: How to Inspire a Generation of Scientists, Ramirez says, “The 21st century requires a new kind of learner—not someone who can simply churn out answers by rote, as has been done in the past, but a student who can think expansively and solve problems resourcefully. The traditional academic skills of reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic must be replaced with creativity, curiosity, critical thinking and problem solving, and collaborative and communication skills in order to solve the complex problems of tomorrow.” (source: National Endowment for the Arts)
Ainissa proposes a new way to recast science education from being about memorizing facts, “a trivial pursuit,” to being about problem-solving and thinking for oneself. We need to move away from focusing on tests to showing kids that it’s ok to learn or to take risks. “Children need to explore and to discover. This is how you innovate; you fail your way to your answer. Scientists fail all the time; we just brand it differently. We call it ‘data.”
In the TED talk below, she discusses where Arts and Science meet and how Art should inspire Science and provide it with a vision.
-- Read Let’s fix science education on TED blog
-- Read A Sputnik moment for STEM education on TED blog
-- Watch her TED-Ed lesson "Magical metals, how shape memory alloys work"

IMAGINE: How Creativity Works

"When we tell stories about creativity, we tend to leave out this phase. We neglect to mention those days when we wanted to quit, when we believed that our problem was impossible. Instead, we skip straight to the breakthrough. We tell the happy ending first. The danger of this scenario is that the act of feeling frustrated is an essential part of the creative process. Before we can find the answer — before we can even know the question — we must be immersed in disappointment, convinced that a solution is beyond our reach. We need to have wrestled with the problem and lost. Because it’s only after we stop searching that an answer may arrive." (source: "The Importance of Frustration in the Creative Process" - Brainpickings)
Despite all criticism and debate surrounding the author of this book, we still think the message in this short animation is good...never give up :)
-- Check this website: THE KID SHOULD SEE THIS for other interesting videos


IMAGINE: How Creativity Works from Flash Rosenberg on Vimeo.

#HappySoundsLike

"On this day, we are using the universal language of music to show solidarity with the millions of people around the world suffering from poverty, human rights abuses, humanitarian crises and the effects of environmental degradation and climate change" - Ban Ki-moon
Ahead of the International Day of Happiness, a host of superstars including Cody Simpson, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have teamed up with the United Nations and the world’s most personalised music streaming service, MixRadio, to launch a global music video to continue a weeklong campaign to mark International Day of Happiness, soundtrack 'Boom Clap' by Charli XCX (#HappySoundsLike)
The General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 66/281 of 12 July 2012 proclaimed 20 March the International Day of Happiness recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives. The United Nations invites Member States, international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day of Happiness in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities, and by sharing your happiest song on the HappySoundsLike website and also through Twitter at #HappySoundsLike.
The UN full playlist includes:
‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’ – James Brown and His Family (1964)
‘Kiss’ – Prince and The Revolution (1986)
‘Three Little Birds’ – Bob Marley and the Wailers (1977)
‘(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher – Jackie Brown (1967)
‘Independent Women Pt. 1’ – Destiny’s Child (2000)
‘Made to Love’ – John Legend (2013)
HAPPY DAY TO ALL FROM RIDE THE WAVE!!!!
-- Read 'John Legend, Ed Sheeran Join U.N. to Create 'World's Happiest Playlist' on Rolling Stones



United Nations - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joins the #HappySoundsLike campaign and says "Be happy" in the six official languages of the UN to mark International Day of Happiness March 20, 2015. Ban nominated "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," by Stevie Wonder, as a song on the playlist."I wish everyone around the world a very happy International Day of Happiness! The pursuit of happiness is serious business. Happiness for the entire human family is one of the main goals of the United Nations."

7 BILLION OTHERS

"There are more than seven billion of us on Earth, and there will be no sustainable development if we cannot manage to live together. That is why 7 billion Others is so important to me. I believe in it because it concerns all of us and because it encourages us to take action."
In 2003, after The Earth seen from the Sky, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, with Sybille d’Orgeval and Baptiste Rouget-Luchaire, launched the 7 billion Others project. 6,000 interviews were filmed in 84 countries by about twenty directors who went in search of the Others. From a Brazilian fisherman to a Chinese shopkeeper, from a German performer to an Afghan farmer, all answered the same questions about their fears, dreams, ordeals, hopes...Forty-five questions that help us to find out what separates and what unites us. These portraits of humanity today are accessible on this website. The heart of the project, which is to show everything that unites us, links us and differentiates us, is found in the films which include the topics discussed during these thousands of hours of interviews.
-- Read about HUMAN - the movie



On EDUCATION...



On HAPPINESS...

13 Million Voices

"Today I'll rise and I won't resign my heart to do what I wanted but I wasn't able to I won't accept today, I will try to be better life has a solution, there's nothing impossible I don't believe in "never"...no!" (No Creo en el Jamás - I Don’t Believe in Never)
Juanes is a Grammy Award-winning musician from Colombia. His personal experience of violent conflict in his home country moved him to use music to send a positive message to young people. Through his songs, his international performances, and his work with his own foundation and other initiatives, he raises awareness of the power and importance of peace building. (from United States Institute of Peace website)
Paz sin fronteras II (Peace Without Borders) was the second in a series of benefit concerts headlined by Juanes that occurred September 20, 2009, in Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba. More than 1.15 million people attended the all-star concert made up of many of the top Latin pop, rock and salsa stars from Latin America, Europe, Puerto Rico and Cuba.
Set against the musical backdrop of this concert in Havana, 13 Million Voices is a film that traces the personal ten-year (2004-2014) journey of its protagonists illuminating the stories of Cuba's forgotten youth. As the path of the biggest international names in Latin music, youth protagonists, and the 1.3 million in attendance intersect, a concert is transformed into the voice of a generation.
-- Read Juanes’ Peace Without Borders Concert Draws Crowd In Havana
-- Go to Paz sin Fronteras
-- Watch 13 Million Voices Campaign Video
-- Read The Bumpy Road Towards a Peace Without Borders: Juanes, Cuba and 
its 13 Million Voices on the Huffington Post

Bridging Education and Art Together’s (B.E.A.T.)

B.E.A.T.' s mission is to transform the lives of youth in under-served areas through engaging, exciting and culturally relevant music, dance and writing programs which include beatboxing, breakdance, music production/composition, and creative writing. By engaging, retaining, challenging and teaching life-skills to the students in their programs through music, writing and dance, B.E.A.T. aims to help mold a new generation of leaders and creative thinkers who themselves will inspire and impact the generations to follow.

Today's Future Sound

Today's Future Sound uses music production and media arts as vehicles through which to empower youth as artists and community members while fostering their well-being as individuals. They believe in the power of music to transform and inspire youth to create positive change in their lives and communities and view their work as having educational, therapeutic and social components that can empower individuals to build confidence, inspire creativity, and create change.

Building Beats

Today we will feature some organizations that have been very successful in bringing positive change in the lives of youth from low income communities, by inspiring and empowering them through various arts and music programs.
Building Beats is a non-profit organization focused on raising money for DJ and music programs for youth in low-resource communities. By leveraging the community of DJ's and music fans, Building Beats aims to use social media, the internet, and local events across the world to raise money for art programs that teach youth leadership and entrepreneurial skills. In partnership with Today's Future Sound, and other organizations, Building Beats are able to provide workshops that teach students to make their own beats and often the opportunity to experiment with music making for the first time.
-- Watch An introduction to Building Beats

Science through Art

In Mexico, groundbreaking astronomer Jose Salgado is combining art and music with stargazing. His innovation makes the cosmos a little less mysterious for audiences around the world.
Salgado is an Emmy-nominated astronomer, experimental photographer, visual artist, and public speaker who uses art to communicate science in engaging ways. Salgado's Science and Symphony films have been presented more than 90 times in 15 countries. He is also a member of the Bailey-Salgado Project, an audiovisual ensemble formed with composer and musician Tom Bailey.
-- Go to KV 265 website

FEEL THE MUSIC

"Feel the music" is part of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra’s "Beethoven Journey" concert series. Deaf and hard of hearing children are sensing the sound of a drum or the vibrations of a cello with their whole body. They touch them, sit under the piano and conduct the musicians. This time, three schools from Zurich and around Lucerne in Switzerland are participating. A life-enhancing project for both - children and musicians: "Touching the instrument I could feel it through my hand and my arm in my whole body. But also all the other instruments have transmitted vibrations to my body" says one of the students. The idea for the workshop with deaf and hard of hearing children was born because of Beethoven, who himself turned hard of hearing in his 20s and later deaf which totally influenced his compositions. Since May 2012, there have to date been workshops in eight European countries and around 150 children have taken part (source: youtube via WISE Channel)
Amazing.

Dare To Imagine

"There is not time for us to think in incremental terms, we need to agitate, we need to inspire others.."
The Skoll World Forum brings the most relevant news, insight, and opportunities to accelerate entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social issues.
What will the world look like in 50 years? The problems facing our world are so large that they demand disruptive thinking. We don't have time to think in incremental terms.
It's time to challenge the status quo, and dare to imagine what we can do.



Kofi Annan, shares his vision for a more equitable and peaceful world. This is the first in a special series from the Skoll World Forum featuring social entrepreneurs and other innovators discussing solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

WAR divides - MUSIC connects

"You may be poor, you may only have a ramshackle house, you may have lost your job, but that song gives you hope." - Nelson Mandela
Musicians without Borders uses the power of music to bridge divides, connect communities, and heal the wounds of war. They work closely with local musicians and organizations to build sustainable projects in response to local needs. From successful projects they develop models, methodologies and trainings to adapt for other regions. Musicians without Borders believe that where war has raged, people need everything to return to life from food to water, shelter, clothing, medicine. But more than anything, people need hope. To reconcile, people need empathy. To heal, people need connection and community. MUSIC CREATES EMPATHY, BUILDS CONNECTION AND GIVES HOPE.
-- Watch Music and Education in Palestine
-- Watch Rap for Change

Music Unites

Music Unites is the leading non-profit charity organization supporting music education around the world. Their mission is to raise academic and lifetime achievement for at-risk public school students through the support and creation of unique music education partnerships and programs. They currently provide free after-school music programs to youth through school-based partnerships, along with special monthly workshops designed in alignment with standards for career and college readiness. Music Unite’s life-changing programs and events help educate and guide our youth toward planning and achieving responsible goals for their future.
-- Watch The Zombies & The 2014 Music Unites Youth Choir and "Time Of The Season" LIVE
-- Read "The Magic of Us: Music Unites Brings the Power of Music to Los Angeles"

New Technologies as Tools for Learning

The New Learning Institute delivers engaging, personalized, project-based digital media programs to young people and educators. They work in classrooms, after-school centers, museums, and cultural institutions, or wherever learning takes place. Using the latest mobile technologies and digital media practices and tools, they help young people explore their interests, direct their own learning, and better prepare themselves for living and working in the 21st century (source) The main goal of the NLI is to harness the excitement and potential of these new technologies as tools for learning both inside and outside the classroom.
Mobile Digital Arts uses film and video to advocate for innovative educational practices, digital media programs, and 21st century approaches to learning.
-- Watch A 21st Century Education

Mobile Technologies and Open Education

"I don't think education is limited to the classroom...what technology and digital in general allows us to do is to really extend this experience well beyond the classroom..would I say that in the future we won't have a physical classroom?..I am fairly sure that there are certain things that will remain in the classroom..there are certain things that are very difficult to emulate in the digital world.."
In this interview Dr. Evgeny Káganer, Associate professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, shares his views on various topics concerning mobile technology and technology in general in education.
- Can mobile technologies change the way we learn?
- How are these technologies contributing towards Opening up Education?
- How does technology promote entrepreneurship in Education?
- How can we use Online Learning to innovate?
- How to explain the high drop-out rate in MOOCs
- How will the future of education be?

Mobile technology in education

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the largest multidisciplinary research organisation in Northern Europe, providing high-end technology solutions and innovation services. Their research studies indicate that many of the challenges currently faced by teachers could be efficiently addressed by mobile technology, for example the differentiation and support of different learning styles. The use of mobile technology in learning may also blur the boundaries between the school world and leisure time, promoting self-directed and informal learning. However, new technological solutions for education need to be introduced step by step and with a good understanding of users and their context, so that teachers and children can work efficiently while gradually introducing new practices.

Unleashing The Power Of the Web in Education

"I often start presentations with the idea that education is a silver bullet. I believe the reason we all care about, and are passionate about education, is because we all understand the importance of being educated and what it can do for us. The idea that “you need an education” applies to all classes and across all the ages. This is especially true if you are born into a cycle of poverty...Today, this idea is in serious trouble. Lots of recent data suggests that the achievement gap between rich and poor children is getting wider, which of course threatens the idea of education as a silver bullet. I’m afraid this could just become the norm, accepted culturally as just the way things are. If this happens, we’ll never be able to capitalize on the amazing potential education has to change families...How long do you think that will be sustainable? Education as the silver bullet is part of who we are. Our nation’s identity is made up in large part by the concept of opportunity. If you give me the opportunity, I will succeed. We need to restore that concept in education and give every student access to those silver bullets." (from Jaime's blog)
Jaime Casap, Senior Education Evangelist at Google, delivered a Distinguished Speaker presentation at SXSWedu in March challenging attendees to thinking about the relationship with children and the web. His thought-provoking presentation examined how the web is central to new learning models that will help educators and students discover, collaborate, create, and transform what learning will look like for generations to come (from SXSW Edu website).
Jaime evangelizes the power and potential of technology and Google tools in and out of the classroom. He helps educational organizations across the world find ways to utilize these tools in support of new learning models. His team is responsible for bringing tools to administrators, teachers, and students across the globe.
- Go to Google Education
- Watch How can Google products enhance the study of a literary text?

Rock and Roll Forever

The Rock and Roll Forever Foundation was established by Steven Van Zandt, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and actor in the Sopranos TV series. Back in 2007, Steven discussed with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) his ideas on how use music to address the high drop-out rates afflicting American public schools. Believing that student engagement is a significant facet of the crisis, he conceived a curriculum based around popular music, a subject that connects with student interest and passion.
Rock and Roll: An American Story (RRAS) is the Foundation’s national middle and high school curriculum initiative. Created to address the challenges of an environment in which schools face cuts to arts funding, RRAS includes arts-driven materials designed to keep students engaged and in school. Their groundbreaking curriculum is available at no cost to educators. Launched in Fall 2013, the website offers new lesson plans and teaching resources on a monthly basis.
-- Go to ROCK AND ROLL: AN AMERICAN STORY website

Mindfulness In Schools

..in the UK
In the TED talk below, Richard Burnett, co-founder of the Mindfulness in Schools project, discusses the many benefits he has observed with mindfulness practices in schools. The practices include meditation, perspective-taking, and reflection to impact the way we act and react in our classrooms and with our students. Though started in England, the Mindfulness in Schools project has expanded to have an international focus and application.
-- Watch BBC special on Mindfulness in Schools
-- Read "Why does the Government want to teach mindfulness in schools?" on The Telegraph





..in the US
Room To Breathe is a surprising story of transformation as struggling kids in a San Francisco public middle school that tops the district in disciplinary suspensions are introduced to the practice of mindfulness meditation. The film follows a young mindfulness teacher, Megan Cowan, as she spends several months attempting to teach this technique to the troubled students.
-- Read "Meditation Creates a Little Breathing Space for San Francisco Students"
-- Read "How to make kids listen to their minds"
-- Go to Mindful Schools website

Exploring How Mindfulness Can Transform Education

The Mindful Revolution is a student-run initiative at the University of Pennsylvania, exploring how mindfulness, positive psychology, and character development can transform the education system from the inside out—at the level of the STUDENTS themselves. Their goal is to raise awareness on the implications of minding one's internal health—emotionally, socially, and psychologically.
-- Watch 15 min version here


The Mindful Revolution: Exploring How Mindfulness Can Transform Education from Justin Broglie on Vimeo.

And from the TEACHERS' perspective...Mindfulness strengthens our capacity to be with things as they are and cultivates the ability to integrate mind, body and heart in the present moment, helping us to connect more deeply with ourselves and with others. When teachers are connected to themselves they can be more connected with their students, creating a deeper, more authentic relationship that can enrich learning. Mindfulness training for school communities can help transform education from the inside out.
Amy Burke is a co-founder of the MindWell Foundation. She spent 15 years in high schools as a classroom teacher and guidance counselor in Canada and The Netherlands, and is now based in Prague.
"We know that changing the structure of education is going to take some time, but in the meanwhile, by practicing mindfulness, students and teachers can start transforming education from the inside out."

Nurturing Mindfulness in Education

"I'd like to see a plan for the whole child, for how music, art and literature would create a child, and adults, citizens that are fully participating in our democracy and have a great sense of self. And to me this is the fundamental goal of education"
Mark Greenberg is a child development researcher and educator at Penn State University (US). In the presentation below he discusses various topics in relation to mindfulness practices in education:
How can these practices nurture the development of attention and reflective skills?
What part do caring, and compassion play in education?
What role role have schools in the healthy social and emotional development of students?
What about "at risk" students? Is mindfulness an effective prevention measure?



"Teachers are spontaneously bringing practices of mindfulness into the classrooms because they need to connect with the children and the best way to connect with the children is to make learning an adventure. And the best way to do that is to connect with the domain of being rather than just the domain of doing..."
Jon Kabat-Zinn is Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Practicing mindfulness

The Mindfulness Movie showcases the worldwide brain research proving the benefits of mindfulness and the public’s increasing awareness and acceptance of the practice. Neuroscientists now believe that the practice of mindfulness, which simply requires paying attention, literally changes the brain in positive ways. Throughout the film, we encounter inspiring people and ideas on how changing the way we see can change our lives. The movie also tells the heartfelt stories of military personnel and teenagers using mindfulness to overcome stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD, inspiring the viewer to engage the world in a new way.

For Good

"Like a comet pulled from orbit / As it passes the Sun / Like a stream that meets a boulder / Halfway through the wood / Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? / But / Because I knew you / I have been changed for good"
St. James Music Academy believes in social transformation through the power and love of music.
Through their collaborative music making, they give young people in the poorer areas of town the opportunity to explore their creative potential, gain self-confidence, get an academic head start, and become role models within their family and community. Here they are performing "For Good" at the Be The Village Vancouver 2014: Heart Mind Summit.
-- Watch "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast - Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth Sing "For Good"

Imagination and Empathy

"In any list of what it means to be human, empathy, intuition, imagination and compassion would surely be at or near the top. Yet, many systems of education pay little or no attention to cultivating these vital qualities. Instead, they promote a narrow view of academic ability and impersonal principles of standardization and conformity. We pay a high price for the exile of feeling in education. Emotional, social intelligence and inner well-being, as well as academic excellence, should be carefully cultivated. For the future, it’s vital to rethink the dynamic relationships between heart and mind within human consciousness and their essential place in the education of all our students." 
Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources in education and in business. He is also one of the world’s leading speakers on these topics, with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. He has spoken during the Dalai Lama Center’s Educating the Heart Series and discussed the importance of an education that educates not just the mind, but also the heart.
-- Watch full speech "Educating the Heart and Mind"

EDUCATE THE HEART

"If we want our children to grow into socially and emotionally capable young people we must ask for a balanced education that puts importance on educating both the mind and the heart."
Prepare our children for this world. Educate the heart. It's already happening around the world with astonishing results. Poet and Author Shane Koyczan lent his voice to "Educate the Heart". In the second video he explains what educating the heart means to him.
This is absolutely GREAT -- Please take the time to watch.
-- Read transcripts here
-- Watch Why Educate the Heart?

HEART-MIND Learning and Well-being

“My hope and wish is that, one day, formal education will pay attention to what I call education of the heart. Just as we take for granted the need to acquire proficiency in the basic academic subjects, I am hopeful that a time will come when we can take for granted that children will learn, as part of the school curriculum, the indispensability of inner values such as love, compassion, justice and forgiveness.” - Dalai Lama
The Heart-Mind Summit was held in Vancouver British Columbia last October. The Dalai Lama has inspired and challenged British Columbians to "be the village" that educates the hearts of children and youth in our lives. Heart-Mind learning has been proven to not only improve the well-being of children, but it also improves academic performance.
The Dalai Lama says that our care for others is rich and powerful when we are young because we see no differences between those around us and ourselves. We care for others as we would care for ourselves. However, somewhere down the line as we go through school and enter adulthood we lose this innate sense of compassion. He wonders why. He argues that in the past, this perhaps made sense. Practically, it may have once been wise to focus on yourself rather than others as a matter of self-preservation. But the Dalai Lama believes that this time has passed. Today, not only is it unecessary to think only of yourself – we don't face the same day-to-day dangers we once did – but it is imperative that we build a deep caring for others. The Dalai Lama says this begins at home and in the schools. He believes parents and educators have a unique ability to nurture the positive human qualities children are born with – affection, sense of community, a sense of social responsibilty. He knows it can't be done with a flip of a switch, but the Dalai Lama suggests that if even one person takes this message of "educating the hearts" into his or her everyday life, then that one person can turn into 10, then into 100 and so on. He believes we all have the power to start this ripple effect. The Dalai Lama paints a powerful picture when he says this is not just a well-intentioned ideal. It is the very essence of the "survival of humanity".
-- Watch The Heart-Mind Youth Dialogue at John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver
-- Read the "Reflection Journal"



At the 2014 Heart-Mind Summit, the Dalai Lama and Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl discuss the many benefits of incorporating programs and practices that promote Heart-Mind well-being into the education system, and the great work that has already been done in British Columbia.

Education Through Music

"Music taught me when I was very small that you can travel to infinite places in your imagination. It can take you to emotional places, it can change the world around you without going anywhere"
- Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Universal Music Classics
Education Through Music (ETM) partners with inner-city schools to provide music as a core subject for all children, and utilizes music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school, and self-confidence. They believe that every child deserves access to high-quality music education, taught by qualified and well-trained music teachers and that music should support learning in other key areas, including math, science and language arts.
-- Read Using Research to Ensure an Education Program Actually Works

Igniting Young Minds Through The Arts

Performing Arts Workshop is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to helping young people develop critical thinking, creative expression, and basic learning skills through the arts. Established in 1965 to provide a creative outlet for inner-city teenagers, today the Workshop has a very strong commitment to marginalized youth. Its Artists-in-Schools and Artists-in-Communities programs reach thousands of youth in public schools, transitional housing facilities, and community centers each year. These youth include economically and educationally disadvantaged students, English Learners, Special Education students, and juvenile offenders (from website)

The El Sistema Music Revolution

"Mother Teresa of Calcutta insisted on something that always impressed me: the most miserable and tragic thing about poverty is not the lack of bread or roof, but the feeling of being no-one -- the feeling of not being anyone, the lack of identification, the lack of public esteem. That's why the child's development in the orchestra and the choir provides him with a noble identity and makes him a role model for his family and community. It makes him a better student at school because it inspires in him a sense of responsibility, perseverance and punctuality that will greatly help him at school."
Jose Antonio Abreu is the charismatic founder of a youth orchestra system that has transformed thousands of kids' lives in Venezuela. An economist, musician, and reformer, Jose founded El Sistema ("the system") in 1975 to help Venezuelan kids take part in classical music. After 30 years, El Sistema is a nationwide organization of 102 youth orchestras, 55 children's orchestras, and 270 music centers -- and close to 250,000 young musicians. El Sistema uses music education to help kids from impoverished circumstances achieve their full potential and learn values that favor their growth. The talented musicians have become a source of national pride. Several El Sistema students have gone on to major international careers, including Gustavo Dudamel, currently music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the bassist Edicson Ruiz, who at 17 became the youngest musician ever to join the Berlin Philharmonic. There is a simple concept behind Abreu's work: for him an orchestra is first and foremost about together­ness, a place where children learn to listen to each other and to respect one another. (from TED website)
"Music has to be recognized as an agent of social development, in the highest sense because it transmits the highest values—solidarity, harmony and mutual compassion. It has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings.” - Gustavo Dudamel