Over the past few decades we’ve seen a doubling of the suicide rate among young people ages 15-24, a quadrupling of the suicide rate in children ages 15 and under, and five to eight times as many children suffering from major depression or a clinically significant anxiety disorder. Our current education system does not properly help students learn or practice the elements that lead to a physically or emotionally healthy life. The system even prevents it in a few different ways. This is why we need to change the reason we send kids to school. Rather than testing, standardization, and college attendance, the goal should be to help our kids live happy, healthy lives.
“I think the goal of the education system is to have the kids pass tests. I feel like no one, not even your parents, really cares if you actually know anything. All they care about is if you passed the test.” - Jelani, High School Student
The success of a school shouldn't be measured by test scores. It is more important that students are able to manage their inner world, relate to their outer world, and find their place in the world. “What’s the Point of School?” outlines the Five Happy Healthy Elements that will guide students to becoming citizens who know themselves, know their communities, and know how to create a fulfilling and happy life based on their interests and skills.
“I think the goal of the education system is to have the kids pass tests. I feel like no one, not even your parents, really cares if you actually know anything. All they care about is if you passed the test.” - Jelani, High School Student
The success of a school shouldn't be measured by test scores. It is more important that students are able to manage their inner world, relate to their outer world, and find their place in the world. “What’s the Point of School?” outlines the Five Happy Healthy Elements that will guide students to becoming citizens who know themselves, know their communities, and know how to create a fulfilling and happy life based on their interests and skills.
“Provocative, practical, and promising! A must read for every parent, teacher, and teen. What's the Point of School provides not only the case for education transformation, but the shockingly simple framework required for our kids to thrive in any economy of the future. This quick read is so much more than a conversation starter; it's the permission slip you didn't even know you were waiting for to become a part of the education transformation solution starting right now." - Theresa Campbell, Her Life, Her Legacy
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Schools are treated as though they are a business. Can you guess what the product is? That’s right, our kids. If students are products, that makes colleges the customers. So, it’s no wonder testing – regular QA checks – and college admittance are so important to our education system. But this clearly is not working for us, nor do our children deserve to be treated this way. However, we can change this. I invite you to join me in this endeavor. Let us finally prioritize the well-being of students. The first step is to grow the Ed Transformation conversation.
To join in the conversation and help it grow one can follow the hashtags #hhchallenge and #edtransformationnation. Every so often we will challenge you to do specific yet simple happy healthy actions with your own families, classrooms, or communities. We’ll issue one Happy Healthy Challenge per week, each week focusing on a different Happy Healthy Element. Share your participation in the challenge with a photo or video and the hashtags on any social media platform. Joining the Ed Transformation Nation and participating in the Happy Healthy Challenges are simple and fun ways to start enriching lives now and growing the transformation conversation. As part of the Ed Transformation Nation you can help redesign schools from the Industrial structure that they currently have to one that serves students by giving them the gift of thriving, fulfilling lives.
To join in the conversation and help it grow one can follow the hashtags #hhchallenge and #edtransformationnation. Every so often we will challenge you to do specific yet simple happy healthy actions with your own families, classrooms, or communities. We’ll issue one Happy Healthy Challenge per week, each week focusing on a different Happy Healthy Element. Share your participation in the challenge with a photo or video and the hashtags on any social media platform. Joining the Ed Transformation Nation and participating in the Happy Healthy Challenges are simple and fun ways to start enriching lives now and growing the transformation conversation. As part of the Ed Transformation Nation you can help redesign schools from the Industrial structure that they currently have to one that serves students by giving them the gift of thriving, fulfilling lives.
Watch or Listen to Interviews here:
A Peek Inside the Book
Contents
Introduction ... "The most damaging phrase in the language is 'We've always done it this way!'" - Grace Harper
Chapter 1: What's the Point? ... "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid." - Attributed to Einstein
Chapter 2: Preparing for an Economy and a Society that Doesn't Exist Yet ... "Craft the life you want. Leave the world better than you found it." - unknown
Chapter 3: The Five Happy Healthy Elements ... "We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are." - Oprah
Chapter 4: Play and Exploration of Interests ... "If we don't stand up for children then we don't stand for much." - Marian Wright Edelman
Chapter 5: Emotional Health and Positive Relationships ... "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." - Attributed to Aristotle
Chapter 6: Physical Health and Nutrition ... "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." - Frederick Douglass
Chapter 7: Financial Literacy ... "Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." - Warren Buffett
Chapter 8: Community Involvement and Effective Altruism ... "Everybody can be great ... because everybody can serve." - MLK
Chapter 9: Learning Through Interests Rather Than Subjects ... "Every day our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. We should tread softly." - Sir Ken Robinson
Chapter 10: Transforming Education for a Thriving Generation ... "We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already." - JK Rowling
Chapter 1: What's the Point? ... "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid." - Attributed to Einstein
Chapter 2: Preparing for an Economy and a Society that Doesn't Exist Yet ... "Craft the life you want. Leave the world better than you found it." - unknown
Chapter 3: The Five Happy Healthy Elements ... "We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are." - Oprah
Chapter 4: Play and Exploration of Interests ... "If we don't stand up for children then we don't stand for much." - Marian Wright Edelman
Chapter 5: Emotional Health and Positive Relationships ... "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." - Attributed to Aristotle
Chapter 6: Physical Health and Nutrition ... "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." - Frederick Douglass
Chapter 7: Financial Literacy ... "Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." - Warren Buffett
Chapter 8: Community Involvement and Effective Altruism ... "Everybody can be great ... because everybody can serve." - MLK
Chapter 9: Learning Through Interests Rather Than Subjects ... "Every day our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. We should tread softly." - Sir Ken Robinson
Chapter 10: Transforming Education for a Thriving Generation ... "We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already." - JK Rowling
About the Author
Emma’s experiences as a graduate of public education, as a parent, and as a college and career coach working with tens of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers lead her to wonder why schools are designed and structured the way they are and if there is anything we as parents and community members can do to make it better. Her new book “What’s the Point of School?" is a treatise of her experience, her research, and a new vision for education.
“I believe that true education transformation is not just a reworking within our system but a reimagining of the system all together. It is a culture change. We need to change the way we think, view, and talk about education.”
“I believe that true education transformation is not just a reworking within our system but a reimagining of the system all together. It is a culture change. We need to change the way we think, view, and talk about education.”