Giving Compass' Take:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in education systems. Panelists in this webinar discuss how to disrupt traditional systems and propel civics education forward during this period of recovery. 

• How are school districts thinking about how best to support their students during COVID-19? How are schools thinking about and tackling equity issues?

• Read more about education in equity during the pandemic. 

Pausing amid the start of the school year, last week we hosted the fourth in our five-part webinar series on education Recovery & Renewal. This dialogue explored how education prepares students for dynamic, disruptive change in a future being accelerated by the pandemic.

Panelists Mandy Situ, a current high school sophomore, Dr. Johann Neem, an historian of education and democracy, and Dr. Jason Wingard, a scholar on the Future of Work, revealed important areas of consensus – and crucial tensions to resolve:

  1. Programs focused on civic participation and career pathways must work to include students from marginalized communities and backgrounds, including new Americans, particularly those who don’t speak English.
  2. To be a nation, we need shared knowledge and context, and we must also value all backgrounds, traditions, and perspectives.
  3. The labor market is more competitive than ever. Globalization and advances in technology create cross-pressures on whether students should pursue a liberal arts education that enables them to understand problems, or more discrete education experiences and credentials that enable them to pursue the next step in their career. To prepare for higher-paying careers, school must ensure critical thinking and creative problem-solving are honed by applying broad knowledge.

Read the full article about Education success at The Aspen Institute.