The Future of Smart: How Our Education System Needs to Change to Help All Young People Thrive

by Ulcca Joshi Hansen

Our best efforts at improving education have failed to improve the lives of children, or change society for the better. This is no the current system ignores our deepest knowledge about how human beings thrive. Being “smart” today is still about sorting kids based on how well they absorb and retain knowledge. We need education to reflect a different set of interdependence, community, diversity, and deep, dynamic learning. We need it to align with human development, facilitate learning for different kinds of brains, and prepare young people for a changing society and evolving workplace. Blending history and science with stories from inside, The Future of Smart is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of education. A passionate advocate for transformation in our education system, Dr. Ulcca Hansen explains the disconnect between what we want for our children, and what education today provides. Dr. Hansen is Chief Program Officer at Grantmakers for Education and has worked in the education field for two decades. Her personal experiences as an English-language learner and first-generation college student inform her perspective on what it means to provide an “equitable” education for every child and meaningfully engage communities in that effort. The Future of Smart shows how we can build an education system to nurture the unique, human capabilities of each child, and lay the groundwork for a more equitable, just and humane future.

Best Indie Book Award Winner
Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist
Eric Hoffer Book Award Montaigne Medal Finalist for most thought provoking read
IPPY Gold Medal Winner (Independent Publisher Book Awards)
National Indie Excellence Awards Winner

Genres: Education, Leadership

312 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2021

Reviews

[Daniel Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read for parents, educators, nonprofit/business leaders, funders, policy makers and citizens

This ambitious book is a must-read for all who want a better education system for future generations of young people. The book succeeds in making the case for an entirely different system of schools, human-centered/liberatory schools, as Dr. Joshi Hansen calls them, that are focused on developing young people to reach their highest potential as human beings, community members and world citizens. Dr. Joshi Hansen’s vision for the future of education is informed by the science of the brain, the history of human societies, and a deep understanding of pedagogical theory and practice. She provides an unvarnished view of past and current attempts to establish schools more consistent with her vision, shining a spotlight on both successes and failures. Finally, Dr. Joshi Hansen provides a roadmap for systemic change to education that would allow for the human flourishing inhibited by today’s schools.

[Sharon Hwang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was concerned that this book might be technical and hard to read. I was pleasantly surprised that it was easy to read, follow and engaging. I learned more about our very archaic education system and structure, which is robbing our children of critical and creative thinking skills. Why and how we need to update our structure to prepare our children's for 21st century and beyond. Everyone should read this book if you are concerned with creating a future generation that is built around inclusivity, acceptance, community, collaboration and honoring differences.

[Best Indie Book Award · Rating 5 out of 5]

🏆 2022 BIBA® Non-Fiction: Education Winner!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great read as a parent looking at education options and getting into the Montessori school. The concepts were well thought out and easy to follow.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lowkey very good ideas about school changes that highkey seem hard to implement

How do I reach these kids

[Larkin Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A regional education collective impact group I'm supporting is reading this book. The author makes a compelling case for transforming our education system from a "Cartesian-Newtonian/Left Hemisphere" model to a "Holistic-Indigenous Learning/Right Hemisphere" one is compelling and is consistent with a lot of my more recently learning about complexity, indigenous practices, and the knowledge/skills/mindsets we need MUCH more of in the world. Making this shift, albeit incredibly challenging given our current structure, would definitely result in better schools and better-educated students.