Lost Children

We lose a lot of kids. 

And I mean A LOT of kids. Try well north of a half million kids a year in the USA. 

They simply drop out of public schools. (607,789 kids. (in 2008-9) according to the U.S. Dept. of Education)   That number boggles my mind. That is roughly the population of Vermont.

Let's imagine what the prospects of those "lost children" might be out there in the world with no degree, few skills, and the label of "a failure"? 

And let's venture a guess on who ends up helping shoulder their burden?

That's right: You and I.
 

Our communities have to dig deep to pay for the consequences of these "lost kids."

It's a shame that these kids, who leave school, do so without the skills to help us make things better.  If they could read, write, problem solve - and feel empowered -imagine tapping them on the shoulder to help architect schools that were boredom-proof? 

Ironic, no?

By the way, I'm a creative thinker, so I don't think all of these "lost kids" are truly lost.
Many do actually fight their way through and make a future for themselves.
Some of these "left fielders" actually do some amazing things left to their own devices.

Speaking of devices, technology is a pretty nifty "game changer." Kids don't need to be reminded to use their mobile devices. Keyboards are irresistable to even infants. Kids expect all screens to be touch screens. Tell kids to build a robot and they light up. Ask them to make a movie or an animated film and they'll work through the night. We've just begun to see the tip of the iceberg on how these tools will revolutionize learning.

Pretty obvious to me that with new tools - cross-pollinated with new thinking about what school is, what it can be, what it should be... and then we've got a shot at plugging back in one third of our country's future.
 

Engaged, creative, productive, innovative. 

Hey, isn't that the spirit that a participatory democracy thrives on?

Thinking for ourselves. 

Making own choices. 

Yet remembering that we're all in this together -- that our neighbors matter.

That's why my brother, Paul and I want to help press fast forward by launching a not-for-profit center dedicated to teaching, learning and creativity. We're interested in "out of the box" ideas that improve things- not just by a few percentage points - but by leaps and bounds. Applying  slightly improved "same old same old" approaches won't move the meter for those hundreds of thousands of kids who are falling off the grid each year. 

Those kids are our neighbors and our neighbors matter to us. 

We can't stand by and watch them suffer and miss the dream.

We count our lucky stars that we can make a difference.
That is what drives us. We get energized when we see kids light up. 

Teachers get recharged. Families get plugged in. Communities get energized.
 

We can't do this alone though... we need you. It's a complex challenge, but we love a good challenge. Many of the solutions to these challenges are ones that we already know work- but need room to breathe -and need to be protected and championed: conversation, listening, freedom, human connections- especially from caring mentors. Nothing beats an inspired teacher whose enthusiasm and energy inspires the same from those around them.

Explore our more at The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity.

Update from my recent 2024 data search: Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That's one student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day. 

Stellar Conference

I meant to blog about this earlier in the summer, but here it is! While it was an event held in late July, it is actually part of an ongoing initiative by my colleagues and friends, Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez.

The Constructing Modern Knowledge conference, which I was invited to come speak at, (oh yeah, and I was tapped on the shoulder to do the poster above!) is a terrific hands-on, minds-on experience that dares the participants to play, to imagine, to create. Reading a book about "experiential learning" might be enlightening, but to absorb it fully requires a JUMPING IN, splashing around, diving deep, and then a good picnic on the shore with your friends. Gary Stager, who I have known two decades, has been a passionate and provocative advocate for authentic learning. He brought together a stellar group and inspired hours of projects including animation, clay animation, film-making, Scratch and Logo programming, and more - as well as reflective dialogue about the benefits and challenges of this kind of creative learning. If every school on the planet could experience two days like this, I think we'd push fast forward on making schools the kind of places kids and teachers would find hard to leave in the afternoon!

Sylvia has been a friend on the journey for an equally long stretch. She is also a mission-driven educator - dedicated to the wonderful work at GenYes which enlists the tech talents of students worldwide to improve education! A brilliant organization.

Gary, Sylvia and I are all founding members of The Constructivist Consortium. We rounded up like-minded organizations creating technology tools to inspire creativity and innovation in schools and places of learning. Check these sites out and... "connect the dots!"