Our current classroom-based education system was developed to support an industrial economy. The goal was to train employees who would sit at a desk all day doing repetitive work, and not ask too many questions. There was also a daycare function - providing a safe place to park children while their parents were at work. The economy changed long ago, but how we teach new generations has remained stubbornly stuck in the old model.
What's needed now? To start with...
- Creative thinking
- Problem solving
- Entrepreneurial skills
- Global cultural competence including language fluency
- Ability to critically filter information
- Political awareness
- Higher level math and science
- Coaching and mentoring
- Values education

And most important, we need to link education to real world applications and challenges, so students can see the relevance of what they are learning.

Care to add a few others?

Just started work on the audiobook version of "Virtually Yours, Jonathan Newman". Another steep learning curve. If all goes well, it will be ready by the end of the year. This has been fun, but a very different creative process. Voices that had only existed in my head need to emerge in a format others can hear.

In his new book, "The Red Market: On the Trail of the World's Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers", Scott Carney documents a growing trade in human body parts and fluids. These are not voluntarily donated or taken from people after their deaths. They're part of a "free market" solution to the desperate need for transplant organs and other biological materials.  Macabre? Yes. Surprising? Not really. Without effective government oversight in India, China and other supplier countries, and with demand and prices high, the trade in pieces of people will continue to grow. So called "free markets" value nothing  other than profit. If they are not controlled, if people don't intervene and insist on valuing human life and dignity over mercantile greed, this kind of practice will spread.

100 people gathered at Island Books on Mercer Island, WA for the official launch of "Virtually Yours, Jonathan Newman". It was a wonderful event and I was honored that so many busy, successful, creative people took the time out to participate. Thank you all!
The book is now available in paperback at Amazon.com and at Island Books and other fine bookstores, and in ebook format at Amazon.com, BN.com (Barnes & Noble), Smashwords.com and elsewhere.
Just click on the "Buy a Book" tab above for links that will take you to the buying location of your choice!