A New Way to Educate

If there was one place where I would love to see dramatic change, it’s in our schools—how we treat and pay teachers, what kids are actually learning and how much individual attention each student receives. I want to see a school system where life skills are taught to kids of all ages, where they are exposed to a world-centric view of what’s happening across the globe, where they are encouraged to pursue a dream and discover what they love to do and where they are taught to accept and even welcome change.

Dave Eggers started an amazing after school program to inspire and excite students—826 Valencia. It is a writing and tutoring lab for kids run by volunteers that began in San Francisco's Mission District. Today 826 chapters have opened in Brooklyn, Ann Arbor, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston and Chicago. The labs are held in non-traditional spaces like cafes and superhero supply stores—places where kids actually go. He also instituted a monthly grant for stand out Bay Area teachers and co-authored Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers.

Check out his web site at Onceuponaschool.org. This is the kind of education that today’s kids deserve.