vailsymposium

The Conversations on Controversial Issues series is moderated by Clay Jenkinson
and generously underwritten by Nancy & Stephen Dowdle, Carole & Pete Feistmann, Laine & Merv Lapin, Cathy Pollard & Dr. Alan Markowitz, Jeanne & Dale Mosier, Sandy & Fred Pack and Mary Pat & Keith Rapp.

There is a very widespread belief that the American education system (especially public education) is broken. What exactly is the purpose of education in the twenty-first century, with the ubiquity of electronic access to information and ideas? What sort of a young adult are we trying to construct through our education system? Are we too wedded to education models that were devised at a very different time in American history, before the triumph of media–i.e., television, the internet, the digitization of culture, the voraciousness of social media, and the visible decline of ethics, civics, and the humanities in our schools? If we wish to re-invent and re-invigorate public education, where do we begin?

Humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson is joined by Dr. Jon Valant, the Director of the Brown Center on Education Policy and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings whose expertise on K-12 education policy and US politics is featured in a wide variety of academic and nonacademic outlets, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, PBS, NPR and Education Week. Join Jenkinson and Valant as they delve into exploring if our K-12 education system is preparing students for our world today.