NOVEMBER 16, 2018

“Education should prepare kids for life.”

Ted Dintersmith is an avid education advocate and the author of What School Could Be: Insights and Inspiration from Teachers Across America. We discuss why developing a child’s human potential as a fulfilled and self-supporting citizen should be the top priority, and how equitable access to high-quality education is imperative to achieve this goal.

Human Potential

Education should be a path for children to develop into self-directed, self-supporting, skill-equipped young adults. This may or may not include a college education, but will require high levels of critical thinking skills. Creativity and innovation will be an integral part of any job in the future.

Standardized Tests and College Readiness

The norm today is to teach what is easy to test, such as narrow arithmetic, instead of what’s important to learn. This turns the purpose of education on its head. Standardized tests and much of college ready content are not well retained by students and do not serve them to be ready for life.

Democracy

A healthy democracy thrives when citizens can think critically and independently. Education must make teaching citizenship skills a priority. Our collective humanity depends on a society of creative and conceptual thinkers who are committed to making positive contributions to their community.

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Ted Dintersmith is an avid advocate and change agent focused on the impact of education and innovation on the future of civil society. He has produced several films and written two books on education. The most recent is What School Could Be: Insights and Inspiration from Teachers Across America.