While enjoying a British holiday during Thanksgiving week, I had the good fortune to learn about Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) efforts to create more positive and progressive visions for learning in the 21st century. In particular, I was struck by how much their work resonates with LREC’s mission. Matthew Taylor, RSA’s chief executive, argues for:

• …Education of the whole child—and of all children—rather than just the academic development of the more able.
• …Forms of pedagogy that explicitly seek to engage children in the learning process rather than seeing them primarily as recipients of handed down knowledge.
• …Schools and other parts of the education system … not be[ing] isolated institutions accountable only upwards to regulators, but learning resources richly connected to local communities and the wider society.
• …Institutions and professionals [using] their own judgment in providing the best education they can.

While schools and teachers have accountability to parents and the community, over the past decade we’ve let a test-driven view of learning determine ideals of practice. As you plan your second semester, I challenge you to join us in making learning more consistent with the goals shared here.

If you’re interested in learning more about work the RSA is doing to foster more adventurous and civically engaged learning, see this opinion piece on Teaching for Freedom written by Julian Astle, RSA’s Director of Creative Learning and Development. I’m looking forward to continuing the dialogue at our conference next month, and beyond.