When it comes to education in the US, we’re suffering from a crisis of imagination: We’ve gotten so caught up in fights over standards, teacher strikes, and [insert fearsome headline here] that we’ve forgotten to ask the most basic of questions: “what do our kids need to succeed?” Fortunately, hundreds of schools and Fellow organizations across the country are pioneering a different way forward: one that places empathy as a core input and outcome of the learning environment. Together, we’ll take a close look at what true “changemaking education” looks like, and what it takes to advance not a program, but an idea. Finally, we’ll examine what we can do, collectively, to unleash action, ensuring that today’s most innovative learning environments—those that intentionally cultivate empathy, leadership, and teamwork—are made the rule, rather than the exception.
