future of work, skills for the future

Change seems to be the only constant in 2018. Rapid technological advances, shifting global perceptions of social and political life, and an economy that rewards innovation and entrepreneurship are all contributing to an atmosphere of disruption.

But during this time of accelerating change and innovation, one fundamental thing has not kept pace—our education system.

Our current system of education—with age-segregated groups, big buildings full of identical classrooms, tight lines of desks, and established ways of teaching subjects year after year—was designed during the industrial era.

private educaton

Coming up on the end of Blyth-Templeton Academy's third year since opening on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, readers of Washington City Paper voted it one of the 3 best high schools in the DC area. Other top schools included DC International and Woodrow Wilson High School.

student-centered learning, grit

Think back to when your teen was a baby - maybe 9 or 10 months old - and they tried to stack blocks for the first time. It's highly likely they were not able to build the stack on their first try. At least not as high as they would have liked. For many parents (and some teachers!), the first instinct is to reach in and cheerfully "fix" the stack. The baby has a tower without the experience of trial and error in building it or in strategizing to overcome small failures along the way.

parents, adolescent development

Researchers have begun to find interesting patterns in the increase of mental health struggles in teens, including anxiety and depression. While some have tried to pin these phenomena on increased screen time, social media, and lack of interpersonal skills, there is an additional field of thought that technology may not be the root of all struggles.

skills for the future

These days it seems that everywhere you look someone is offering coding classes for kids. While coding is all the rage, courses that teach coding focus on a very specific skill, one that not everyone needs or wants. But what happens before we even get to the point that we need to code a program?