Declaring My Mission

Howdy,

Last week we discussed the open information economy.

This week, I'm declaring a mission to improve education.

Why didn't I learn that in school?

I hear it all of the time. Why didn’t I learn how to (insert essential skill) in school? It bothers me. Not because the person posing the question is wrong for asking. Quite the opposite - we are right to ask why our education does not meet our expectations. 

No, it bothers me because we have collectively posed these questions too many times to warrant the immense gap in our education.

For instance, why didn't we learn the following in high school?

• Preparing taxes

• Practicing mindfulness

• Cooking healthy meals

• Connecting with the outdoors

• Managing stress and emotions

• Creating a healthy sleep routine

• Building/maintaining healthy relationships

• Making the most of compounding interest at an early age

Why - why - why. I don’t know. 

It seems clear that we are failing ourselves and our children.

I'm focussing on how we can fix this.

How might we build an engaging curriculum for our emerging leaders? 

How might we make this curriculum accessible to students at the high school level so that every American learns essential skill sets before entering the workforce, going to college/trade school, or pursuing an alternative route? 

How might we engage adults who have completed their formal education to upskill them on what’s essential?

How might we build a curriculum of essential skills that is agile and can keep up with a fast-moving society?

Where the heck do you start?

I'm starting with 8 elements of well-being:

• Physical - nutrition, movement, sleep routines

• Financial - taxes, compounding interest, crypto

• Intellectual - writing, reading, personal monopolies

• Spiritual - mindfulness, meditation, managing stress

• Emotional - processing feelings, journaling, self-awareness

• Environmental - sustainability, unplugging, the great outdoors

• Occupational - jobs, creator economy, resumes, market trends

• Social - support systems, healthy relationships, dopamine detoxes

I've teetered with this curriculum for the past couple of years and have built two different prototypes. The main issue is that I'm not getting this in front of users and gathering adequate feedback. 

I'm going to create a curriculum around each of these overarching topics, get it in front of users, gather feedback, and iterate.

What do I hope to achieve? I will create an engaging curriculum, improve student well-being, and change education policy.

I don't know exactly where this mission will take me. I just know it's a worthwhile endeavor.

Thanks for reading

Shoot me a note if you want in on wherever this mission may lead,

Josh