The Great Inflection & what it means for Edu-Philanthropy
We’re at a turning point. Thirty years ago, Fritjof Capra, who paved the systems thinking pathway for Senge and Wheatley, warned that mankind always sees itself at a turning point. But this time it’s really true. Expanded access to broadband, cheap…
RttT has already had biggest impact of any grant program
Race to the Top strikes again! The mother of all grant programs has produced more reform than any grant program in history. And the feds haven’t spent a dime yet. Three quarters of the states have indicated that they’ll be applying for phase 1 grants in January and most have…
5 charter authorizing strategies to max RttT
It’s time to rethink charter school authorization. There are 5,000 charter schools in the US (about 5% of the total number of schools) and a push from the Department of Education for more. Given that half of the charters aren’t any better than traditional public schools, there has been a push…
Tides & salmon and what they can teach us
It was low tide on Poverty Bay (south of Seattle) at 9:15 this morning. When my Jack Russell and I bounded off the bottom of the steps we almost ran into a giant bald eagle chomping on a sea gull. It looked like there had been a pillow…
Post-inflection learning ecosystem for entrepreneurs
National Journal asked us to review a Springboard (Business Roundtable) report. My reaction was, “Where’s the entrepreneurship?” Springboard made some sound recommendations, but it reads like the predictable managed economy platform of big biz/labor. In contrast, yesterday Tom Friedman noted the Great Inflection and the ‘maker economy.’ …
DOE is major venture investor (but not ED)
The WSJ reports that the Department of Energy has quietly become the biggest venture capital investor: The DOE hopes to lend or give out more than $40 billion to businesses working on “clean technology,” everything from electric cars and novel batteries to wind turbines and solar panels.
Blog premise (or a TOC if you will)
With over 300 posting, I think I‘m getting closer to figuring out what this blog is about. Here’s a summary of the logic chain (or as my friends at Bridgespan would say, my theory of change): Excellence and equity in education is the most important issue for the America economy…
Celebrate Mandela; go see Invictus
While predictable and occasionally plodding, Invictus is worth seeing simply to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s moral fortitude and “unconquerable soul.” It’s hard to imagine spending 27 years in a small cell and emerging with clarity of vision and a a heart full of forgiveness. Clint Eastwood’s new movie also illustrates that…
What a state with no online options should do
There are still a few states where students can’t all or part of their learning online. Here’s three reasons it makes sense to adopt online learning policies: With the push for high common standards including advanced math and science, there simply aren’t enough qualified teachers to fill needs in many…
Lapoesia, Neruda
I spent a couple hours this week thinking with a friend about how kids (and adults) decide what to do–where to go to college? What to do for a living? I reminded me of David Whyte’s work. Lapoesia (Poem), as David Whyte points out in a Heart…