Kids everywhere love to learn, and understand the importance of learning in their lives. Unfortunately, school does not do a very good job with relevance, purpose or meaning — so many children and teenagers are learning whatever they want to know on their own. Kids have changed. School has not changed. As a result of interviewing hundreds of children and teenagers about their lives, their plans and their learning, author Howard Blumenthal worked with University of Virginia (U.S.) School of Education & Human Development dean (now professor) Robert Pianta to write a book, a handbook for the future of learning and school. It is direct, critical, visionary, hopeful and practical — and it contains the voices and ideas of young people from Bulgaria, Brazil, West Virginia, Japan, Korea, and dozens of other countries where kids learn, in school, every day Our goal: get everyone up to speed on the poor situation school is in today (all over the world), and how we, as interesting caring adults, can get the conversation started so every student in the world survives and thrives in the next 25 years. Much attention on Africa and Asia, where most kids live.
