Meet Ramie Johnson, who appears on the cover of the Spring 2021 Carnegie Reporter dedicated to the future of learning and democracy. And download the entire issue. #WeHaveIdeas
With the vast societal disruptions of the past year, we have opportunities to advance long-needed reforms to strengthen education’s foundational connections to our democracy and economy. The Spring 2021 issue of the Carnegie Reporter, the flagship publication of Carnegie Corporation of New York, explores these connections, from the central role of teachers and the need for stronger federal leadership around civil rights, to bipartisan education and alliance building in the areas of foreign policy and immigration. As Julia Weede, chief communications and digital strategies officer, writes in her introduction to the issue, “We cannot yet grasp the enormity of the change we are living. But we must keep at it, identifying new knowledge and understanding, and working toward a future shaped by the best of what we know.”
In the Spring 2021 issue, #WeHaveIdeas for improving the future of learning and democracy:
Public school reform requires teacher education reform
A teacher does not merely instill an education, but rather, given adequate supports, provides avenues of discovery that enrich the lives of our children — who are our future citizens,” writes Vartan Gregorian (1934–2021) in his final essay on his favorite subjects — teaching and learning.
We need stronger federal leadership around civil rights issues
It matters for students and it matters for our country, say former U.S. secretaries of education John B. King, Jr. and Margaret Spellings and Propel America's John C. White, especially when — because of the pandemic — the American education system has been blown into 25 million homes across the country.
Practically everyone who plays a part in education must learn to act in new ways
The Corporation's LaVerne Evans Srinivasan sees a way to transform our education system so that it achieves equity, rigor, and relevance for all students. She also calls for our education system to do better at helping all Americans navigate job and career choices.
Lasting improvements in education depend on stronger home-school connections
Making education work better for everyone is a team effort. During the COVID-19 crisis, teachers, schools, students, and parents have experienced firsthand how they must work together to overcome challenges.
The responsibilities that come with citizenship are learned not inherited
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor makes the case for greater investment in civics education for the health of our civil society. The Corporation's Andrew Geraghty and Geri Mannion argue that the civic health of the United States is in critical condition.
Work the system to change it
How master strategist Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court justice, developed her plan to scrutinize and overturn any governmental discrimination on the basis of sex as unconstitutional for faulty stereotypes and generalizations.
We need to apply scholarly insights to real-world problems in international relations
Meet Naazneen Barma who is leading a new generation of scholars in national security and foreign policy and bridging the gap between academia, policymakers, and the public.
Continuing education on Capitol Hill leads to better foreign policy
Congressional education programs that focus on understanding complex foreign policy matters aim to “impart the knowledge that these individuals need to do their jobs, center them within the expert community, and get those bipartisan relationships going,” says the Corporation's Patricia Moore Nicholas.
The time is right for new investments in bridge-building
There is a growing urgency on the immigration issue. And in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, Americans have a fresh understanding of how immigrants play a vital role in our economy and our communities.
The success of first-generation Americans is a success for everyone
Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston and a naturalized U.S. citizen, explains why the health of our higher education system depends on the children of immigrants.
Discover more ideas for informed action in the Carnegie Reporter:
- Data can help identify opportunities for improving the future of learning and democracy.
- Teachers need to experience the inquiry-based learning we expect them to provide for their students.
- We need to continue to establish, in clear and certain terms, that nuclear weapons are unacceptable.
- There is a worldwide need to bridge the digital divide. Africa is making headway by training educational technology professionals.
- To transform African higher education, we must continue to decolonize its curriculum.
- Daniel Yergin's new guide to energy events and geopolitics — yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s — is useful for understanding that we are nowhere near the end of the age of fossil fuels.
Download the Spring 2021 Carnegie Reporter
Read the Spring 2021 Carnegie Reporter Press Release