The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills our Children need-and what we can do about it

October 1, 2008
Tony Wagner | Faculty, Executive Leadership Program for Educators, a joint initiative of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Business School and the Kennedy School of Government

Our nation’s schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers, we are asking them to memorize answers and our teens are leaving school equipped to work only in the jobs that are fast disappearing from the world economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world. After scores of interviews with business leaders and observation of hundreds of classes in some of the nation’s most highly regarded schools, we can see a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for (critical thinking skills, creativity, effective communication), and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments that focus on test preparation). Every American can work to overhaul our education system, and find ways to motivate every child toward excellence.

Speaker Details

Tony Wagner has served as the Co-Director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard since its inception in 2000. An initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CLG is an “R & D” center that helps teams to be effective change leaders in schools and districts. Tony consults widely to public and independent schools and districts all over the country and internationally, and has been Senior Advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the past eight years. Prior to assuming his current position at Harvard, Tony was a high school teacher, a school principal, co-founder and first executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility; and President and CEO of the Institute for Responsive Education. He earned his Masters of Arts in Teaching and Doctorate in Education from Harvard University. Tony Wagner’s publications include numerous articles in both education journals and national magazines, and four earlier books including Change Leadership, Making the Grade and How Schools Change.Please check out http://sharepoint/sites/visitingspeaker/default.aspx to see upcoming talks, FAQ’s, etc.Questions? Please send mail to: SPEAKREQ