By: Alin Bennett
It’s a big year for democracy. The strength, justice, and equity of democracy are being tested in America and across the globe. Around these debates, there are many questions regarding how to provide our children with the future that they deserve. This includes an education which develops their ability to adapt and change in an unpredictable future. Amid frustration centered on the challenges facing public schools and concern over the shrinking of “Main Street” in towns across the country, community-based, learner-centered ecosystems offer a path forward. This design for public schooling focuses on learning by leveraging the assets, insights, and expertise of many organizations and individuals in a local community. It prioritizes learning that is relevant and tangible to each child.
How can we create these ecosystems across the nation? This question is examined in Ecosystems for the future of learning, a study conducted by The History Co-Lab and Education Reimagined and commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The culmination of months of fieldwork, this report outlines what an ecosystem development process might look like in different communities and what’s needed to make the…
