Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Shifting Paradigms in Education

Some in the education reform movement are criticized for the size and scope of their goals. Those most beholden to the status quo are only willing to embrace the most incremental of reforms—if any.

But in truth, we have to think big, or we'll fail to make significant improves that truly help the kids that need it most. Our own Kevin P. Chavous often speaks of the need for "a revolution in education," and we couldn't agree more. 

In a recent Forbes.com article entitled, "Against Barriers to a New Paradigm Shift," author E.D. Kain echoes this sentiment:
"But really, we need reforms. We need to break all institutional barriers to a new way of conceiving education in the first place..."
 He's right. Unless we start—or, in the case of some of the stalwart reformers fighting for school choice, continue—to aim high, we'll never achieve the reforms we seek.

In the spirit of aiming big, here's a video to which Kain links that explains rather cleverly how we can begin to think about education in America:



- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MAG

1 comment:

  1. OH MY GOD!
    I find this video exciting on many levels:
    The people at RSA, through the medium of this video, portray an exact replica of our, AKRNA'S, Big Picture viewpoints, saying the exact SAME thing without one iota of disagreement or discovery (except the enlightening Oklahoma snip it!), albeit, there's still much left unsaid, yes!

    However, for one engaging video, they said plenty, and it was plenty GOOD.

    The viewpoints expressed in this video are precisely the same ideas as the organization, AKRNA, that I dedicate my energies to so they may fulfill their mission.

    On their website, AKRNA speaks avidly on these issues, yet, in an entirely different manner - the joi d'vivre of differences that I call the 360 degrees of angles of perception that make for a wholism point of view.

    I deliberately spell wholism as I do to emphasize, whole not hole! I fear not the spelling criticism. ha ha.

    May I invite you to another angle of perception in resonance with this presentation? We are initiating our website to deliver our message of how to actualize this paradigm shift.

    Daily, we are adding our content (as we rise to the challenges of transferring it from paper to html acceptance).

    We provide co-creating vehicles that educate & empower people to manifest a direly needed paradigm shift because awareness coupled with how-to skills compels action. We thrive on being deliberate, determined on Principle and then, decisive.

    Visit us and let's talk collaboration! As a Unity of Oneness focusing on learning over teaching (I loved his industrial metaphor, it was delicious!), we'll have a demonstrating model others can learn by & be inspired by in order to get out of their proverbial box, or DNA, as he calls it.

    Our non-profit mission statement centers on advancing awareness of the need for a revolution in education by evolving education.

    We define and restructure education as a synthesis of the best pedagogy & mold it into a systems-thinking structure capable of enough flexibility to serve the purpose of graduating students prepared for the 21st century: http://www.akrna.com

    All to Love,
    Sharon Quinn

    I wept with joy, for real, as I was listening to this video because I met another mind tuned-in to the same awareness, but on a differing wavelength that was filling the gaps between our minds - a world apart in time & space maybe, but vibrationally at-one, with a grand loveliness.

    I see a critical mass coalescing for readiness to move from talk into proactive changes happening.

    How can we join forces? I'm not kidding or being rhetorical. I WANT to talk to you people!

    Cooperatively working together we can do so much more in a more palatable time frame because our kids are not "on hold", and each day we "think things over", children are consumed by the "cracks in our system." This is not an acceptable loss to me.

    There's no arguing about how a Unity of Oneness of like-minded people will be a force to contend with, well, rather a force on the leading edge causing a groundswell that will become an educational paradigm shift...and from the common sense wisdom of grassroots thinking causing the movement, too boot!

    (I knew politicians weren't the answer)

    There's nothing quite as clarifying as laying one's ax at the root, healing a system means causal awareness defining an ever alive structure able to keep pace with its evolving functions.

    PPS. Great sense of humor. I especially enjoyed the fictional ADHD "condition" arising from Oklahoma and gaining momentum as it hits the east coast! (gave me a much needed levity dose for my day). Tells a story, indeed!

    PPPS. (I love trinities)
    I 'm going create a highway linking to this video. By the way, I'm generally not easily impressed because so many people tend to overestimate what they have to offer. I consider it a disease of consciousness created by a failed education system.

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