Just as Early Learning Nation showcases the ways families, researchers and grassroots nonprofits and organizations are building an early learning...
Community Cultivators
Just as Early Learning Nation showcases the ways families, researchers and grassroots nonprofits and organizations are building an early learning nation—one community at a time—our Community Cultivators series highlights how innovators across all sectors build and sustain global communities from the ground up. We hope the series inspires your own early childhood work.
Make. Learning. Relevant.
Dean Kamen’s Vision for Building Community
Imagine a world where baseball is a subject taught in school. Just one thing is missing from this imaginary curriculum: the students never actually get to play the game.
In September, they open their textbooks and read about the origins and rules of baseball. After winter break they take tests on pitching and hitting records set by the greatest players. By the spring, classes delve into the nuances of base stealing and bunting.
So what if they never swing a bat themselves or catch a line drive, right? It’s not like any of them are going to become professional ballplayers, right?
To Dean Kamen, this scenario is no more absurd than the way math and science have been taught traditionally.
“Some of this stuff doesn't even make sense,” marvels Malcolm Mitchell, children’s author and executive director of the Share the Magic Foundation. “I'm actually sometimes taken aback by it, because I don't really know how it all transpired. Talking through it kind of helps.”
The Community Cultivators series isn’t usually literally about cultivators, but with Lynette Johnson, executive director of The Society of St. Andrew, it just makes sense, especially during Hunger Action Month.
In the 1970s, New York Times delivery trucks didn’t go to neighborhoods like Majora Carter’s.
D’Arcy Goldman, incoming chair of EMPath’s board of directors, says, “Kim's dedication and experience serving the Boston community is well documented, but what may be lesser known is her incredible ability as a leader to bring different groups and perspectives together to get things done.”
Julie Leff can pinpoint the moment when she knew Roger Brooks was the right person to lead Facing History and...
A decade ago, early childhood advocacy could be a lonely pursuit. “It felt like we were talking to an empty auditorium,” says Bruce D. Perry, MD, Ph.D. “Now there are more people in the auditorium. They’re recognizing the power of early childhood, the importance of creating policy and practice that will benefit children and that will meet the needs of the adults who are caring for young children.”
Ping Chong grew up in the 1950s in New York City’s Chinatown, which is right next to Little Italy, and his middle school was nearly half and half. So who became his best friend?
As founder of the organization and its nonprofit offshoots Schoolhouse.world, Khan Lab School and Khan World School, he has built a planet-changing education powerhouse that touches millions.
It all started with a spanakopita. Ellie Krieger was about eight years old, and her mother and aunt took her...
Named for his daughter, the first “Ultra-Accessible™” theme park in the world, and other fully inclusive ventures, offers experiences for everybody.
