At the kickoff to World Entrepreneurship day at the United Nations on April 14th, four panelists provided their perspective on the role of education in breeding the next generation of thought leaders, specifically within the United States. The panelists included lifestyle mogul Marc Ecko, author and venture capitalist Leonard Brody, children’s entertainment creator Don Moody, and the Treasurer of the Harlem City Success Charter School John Petry.
Despite their rather diverse backgrounds, all four individuals expressed similar concern over the state of the educational system, specifically with regard to the definition and measurement of success, the achievement gap between schools, and meeting the needs of all children in our schools.
Ecko began the discussion describing his early days of airbrushing t-shirts and painting graffiti. He cites this time as when he discovered his “narrative” in life, which now drives his internal motivation. He developed a passion for the artistry, and channelled his energy to this obsession. Unfortunately, as he described, the current school system and government imposed mandates do little to support this type of path.
“When you’re tuned out in 8th grade, it’s a wrap. You’re done.”
- Marc Ecko
Brody echoed the sentiments, citing his controversial belief that we’re a tremendously different and varied population than we were when the educational system was designed. According to him, “the house just doesn’t fit the people who live in it.” He points to the Israeli educational system, one that despite having few natural resources, a population the size of Manhattan, and constant conflict, continues to generate world renown thought leaders and entrepreneurs. He attributes this success to the encouragement of focused development dictated by the interests of children at an individual level.
The focus of the discussion turned toward the use of technology in the classroom. According to Moody, an inherent bias seems to exist within the classroom against technology. Moody blames content, rather than technology, as the culprit behind this bias. Administrators fear the potentially negative content available, whether of a lewd or distracting nature, and seek to limit the exposure of their students to technology as a result. His solution to this problem centers upon developing content that is safe and beneficial for the classroom, specifically at a young age. He strongly believes that preparing children before they enter the educational system – regardless of the system – is imperative to driving success in future years.
The panel concluded with the following question: how can innovation change the educational experience of our children? Petry put it simply: empower parents and enhance the flexibility of the system. He refers to the budget cuts forcing new teachers out of schools in New York simply because they’re the newest, regardless of the quality of their work.
Brody complemented Petry’s point on flexibility, encouraging educators to allow kids to focus on what motivates them, and how to avoid a terrifying fear of failure. Failure in something is inevitable, and we must teach our kids to embrace the experience and improve.
With GradeMate, we want not only to reduce the amount of administrative and menial work involved in the learning process, but to improve the quality of the extra time afforded. By providing tools to empower and connect students, teachers and parents we can strengthen and personalize the relationships between these individuals and improve the quality of education received.
Reducing the strain on students created by practices of the past will allow them to use their time more efficiently to pursue their own interests. If one overall theme resonated above all during this discussion, it was the need to let children pursue their passion. Our vision is to allow GradeMate to act as an enabler for just that.
