“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman
I recently started working with a social entrepreneur whose team is doing awesome things in the education space through an organization called The Future Project. - http://www.thefutureproject.org/ Unlike other educational solutions, they are not trying to reform education; they are revolutionizing education.
The approach is actually pretty simple. Extracurricular school activities used to provide the extra motivation that helped and encouraged students to focus on their schoolwork. They got to participate in activities they could choose outside of their required classes, which made doing their required work more tolerable and even provided a framework for its usefulness. Since in many inner-city schools extracurricular school activities have been cut by budget constraints, these incentives are a memory of the past. The Future Project has now created a new and improved twist on extinct extracurriculars.
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” - William Butler Yeats
The Future Project places one staff member in each school as a Dream Director (DD). The DD helps the kids come up with ideas, projects, and/or events that they are passionate about and would like to see happen in the school. The DD then puts kids together in teams and guides them in making their dream projects happen. The ideas do not have to be complicated or expensive, and most are not. When the kids find something they are passionate about, whatever it may be, they are more engaged in school and build self-confidence.
I always thought that education was about teaching people to fish so that they would be able to provide for themselves. What I was missing is that if they have no hopes and dreams, they are never going to yearn to learn. The Future Projects is changing our world.
I am working with the founder of The Future Project to find ways to scale this into every school in the US and then the world. Please share your thoughts and ideas.
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” - Oprah Winfrey
