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...

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...

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.

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...

Learning is a lifetime necessity that is increasingly subtle with the aging process. Behavioral scientist Ralph Tyler, one of my mentors, was chair of my doctoral committee at the University of Chicago. At that time, he was dean of the arts and sciences division, chair of the department of education, and university examiner. (By passing a comprehensive batch of tests, overseen by the university examiner, able students could secure the bachelor's degree in less than the usual...

One of the most educational experiences of my undergraduate years occurred during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. I spent the summer working in the microbiology lab of a factory near my home to earn money for college. One of the microbiologists was an African-American man. We had many candid discussions that summer about race, including his many experiences with discrimination. His willingness to share his experiences transformed the way I interact publicly. For...

The press badges on two junior high reporters caught the president's eye at the steps of Air Force One. "Oh, I see you're starting early," Richard Nixon told the students as he stepped forward to shake their hands.

The two student reporters, wearing the same press credentials as the half dozen professional reporters also at the aircraft, were the only ones who got to talk with the president. He was in Rockford, Illinois to deliver a campaign speech. It was...