GOOD-centric Exterior Spiritual Disciplines:

To live out goodness, fairness, and love

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Education

"Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development."

~ Kofi Annan

Admittedly, I work in higher education so it is my hammer; however, I am not alone in believing that education can change the world:

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. (Nelson Mandela).

One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world. (Malala Yousafzai)

Education doesn't change the world. Education changes people. People change the world. (Paulo Freire)

Education itself is changing. A digital disruption is upon us. How will we guide the transition from the old industrial model of exclusively face-to-face instruction, conformity, memorization of content, and standardized assessment to a mastery model of blended instruction, personalization, critical thinking and creativity, and project-based assessment? Here’s my modest proposal for the restructuring of elementary, secondary, and higher education: Elementary school would focus on truly common core instruction; middle school would divide focus between advanced common core and the introduction of a personalized mix of inquiry, project, and problem-based learning; high school would focus on a personalized mix of inquiry, project, and problem-based learning; and post-secondary education would focus on meeting the changing needs of the marketplace through competency-based instruction.

The GOOD-centric exterior spiritual discipline of service challenges us to organize our evolving educational system so it reflects and supports a world in which love, goodness, and fairness thrive. In keeping with the Understanding Complexity bottom-up approach, I will suggest guiding principles to be worked out at the local level with the strongest new systems emerging to become a more-than-local presence.