Rethink Learning Now

As a child of immigrant parents, neither of whom graduated from high school, I have often wondered how it was possible that all six of their children graduated from college and earned advanced degrees from some of the best colleges in the country - Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cornell, Colu...

It is with enormous gratitude that I write this heartfelt thanks and reflection to my Shinnyo-En family. When I was invited to attend their conference in Hawaii and the lantern floating ceremony, I almost didn't come, as I was so busy with work and felt that it would be irresponsible to take off -- without my family -- for a week. So, I talked to my husband about going, and he said, "You should do this...it's a gift and it's as important to accept them as give them." And...

This year was very unique and it was something that we did not expect. Sixth grade was a challenge to us, because of the academic responsibilities that our teachers and parents expected of us. We had to keep up with school work and homework for three different teachers and as the seniors of the school we weren't prepared for this drastic change and strict rules of the sixth grade. It was imperative that shirts were tucked in, having silent lunches, no recess, and we had to be...

Mr. Ward created a 60-member chorus and a 60-member marching band from a small high school student body in a DOD (Department of Defense) school in Berlin, Germany, during the days of the 'Cold War' - and he did so in only 4-5 years' time. Mr. Ward was from California, and for military kids who identified each other by the state they were from, California was considered a beacon of coolness. It didn't hurt that Mr. Ward had a handsome boyishness about him, either, although he was...

"To the world, you may only be one person, but to one person,you may be the whole world."

Never was this quote truer than for one little girl -- me. I attended six different elementary schools, moved twice during my junior high years and transferred into four different high schools. In the absence of extended family, my teachers became my mentors. In the absence of a busy social life, books became my friends -- and the CLASSROOM was my whole world.

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The Dalai Lama was once asked in front of a live audience what was the cheapest, fastest, easiest way to enlightenment. His reaction was to put his face in his hands and weep. After a few moments, he said that this was not a question a practitioner of meditation would ask, and that if he knew what enlightenment was, there would be no hesitation to do what it takes to attain it.

In this same way I could weep when I hear those who wield influence in the field of education...

Our mama taught us how to be simultaneously brave and pliant, and we found ourselves in this winning combination.

Mama Annie was my only teacher for much of my childhood. She home-schooled me through several formative years spent in Central Java, my father's birthplace. There I made note of the traditional preference that a woman not laugh too hard or be too assertive. There my peers were taught to wait, be patient, and to duck and look down when passing adult men.

Great teachers share one common goal -- the audacity to believe that children can and will go as far as ultimately capturing the mysteries of outer space. This audacity is woven in a memorable motto known as "Pride."

Pride was the common thread that connected my classmates to our teachers. We were regular everyday children driven to succeed but because of countless negative newspaper or media depictions of our small community, we began to ask questions. For...

In the fall of 2003, I started my junior year of high school with an 8th grade education level and a serious case of "broken home" syndrome. I was a high school drop out about to enroll in GED classes when fate stepped in and led me to Urban Academy.  

"Hi, are you a new student?...I'm teaching Short Shorts this semester. . . You should take it." 

His name was Alex White, and he was teaching a literature course about short...

I often return to the site of my childhood elementary school in South Baltimore. As I sit there, next to railroad tracks and an elevated expressway, I thank God for the leaders, during the 1950s and 1960s, who showed their faith in us and invested in our future.

For the children of our neighborhood, our teachers and parents were our Moses, leading us through a wilderness of prejudice and teaching us how to forge better lives. Five decades later, shining in a corner of...

I grew up in a space in-between. A mixed race child who predominantly spoke Mandarin and "Chinglish" until about the age of four or five, I remember having a really difficult time in school. I must have sensed the discrimination from the parking lot. Once my parents and I passed through the doors and into the hallways, I wanted to run right back out of elementary school. I was curious enough to stay, but I started crying, which my teacher disliked; she responded by...

My young immigrant parents came to the United States from Pakistan in hopes of achieving the American Dream, for the sake of opportunity. The emphasis on education ran deep though my family. My grandfather recognized that education is the only way to transcend poverty. He acted by putting numerous, underprivileged men through college and law school in Pakistan. He once wrote to me, "Let your motto be hard work, planned studies and recreation. Struggle to make a successful life...