Lifelong Learning
Americans Should Idolize Great Teachers
Milton Chen of the George Lucas Educational Foundation has challenged Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Broadcasting Company to run an American Teacher contest like American Idol.
Bring a Poet (or Dancer) to Class
How a performing artist uses the lively arts to draw kids into learning.
Bringing Astrophysics Down to Earth
A champion of science literacy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, People magazine’s “sexiest astrophysicist,” says the scientific method is not for nerds only.
Build the Country We Want
Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick doesn’t mince words: Folks can no longer sit on the sidelines. America is in crisis!
Business Skills for Do-Gooders
A new Harvard program is testing whether the leadership style of social entrepreneurs can be taught, thanks to a grant from the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation.
Educating the World: One Laptop per Child
First nicknamed the "$100 laptop," the little green XO Children’s Machine is already in use by children in remote locations in Nigeria, Thailand, and Brazil.
Exploring the Depths of Science
Bob Ballard, the deep sea explorer who found the wreck of the Titanic on the ocean floor, shares the excitement of oceanographic science with teachers and students through the JASON Project.
For Savvy Travelers Who Hate Hotels
These three organizations cater to the kind of traveler who prefers friendly locales rather than impersonal, big ticket hotels.
Is "No Child Left Behind" Working?
Just ask Jack Jennings. Educators and journalists alike turn to him for his knowledge of the fine print and its real-life implications.
Ivy Leaguers Seek Teaching Jobs
About one in ten of the class of 2005 at elite schools like Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and Spelman applied to the low-paying Teach for America program. Do young idealists see education as the new frontier for civil rights?
Learning Their A-Bee-Cs
Kids can learn a lot about social behavior, and why it matters, from honeybees.
Legacy of the Land
The rugged beauty of the red rock landscape holds sacred meaning for Navajo—a heritage one man wants to pass on.
Meet the XO Children's Computer
One Laptop per Child is already placing this little green learning machine in the hands of children in remote locations around the globe.
More Cooking School Vacations
A cooking course not only helps you improve your way with food; it lets you immerse yourself in a different culture as well
One Day University
If you long for the intellectual intensity of college studies, but can do without the pressure of homework and exams, rediscover the thrill of learning at One Day University, a thought-provoking day of lectures by the best and brightest professors.
People Who Build Schools
A new school is a very powerful gift, a form of advocacy for the students who will go there, based on the belief that education releases human potential.
People Who Build Schools: It Takes a Village
Vermont schoolteachers connect with Yagua Indian villagers in Peru and decide to build them a new school.
People Who Build Schools: It Takes a Vision
Instead of a golf course, this development near Tucson, AZ, has an auditorium, a library, and a great atmosphere for academics.
People Who Build Schools: It Takes an Oprah
Many times before, Oprah had raised money for education and school facilities in the US and other countries. But this time, with this one, somehow it was different.
Richard Dreyfuss's New 'Opus'
The Oscar-winning actor has no regrets about his movie career, he says, but he's at a different place in his life now.
Second Acts: 1960s Activists Become Today’s Educators
Education is the Civil Rights challenge for the 21st century, say two veteran activists of the 1960s.
Second Acts: If Not Now, When?
With longer life spans and a new realization that our brains continue developing as long as we use them, people are going on to exciting second and third careers.
Tasting Life in Other Places
Could it be that the best way to a country’s heart is through its cooking?
Teacher Power
Educator Fred Mednick acts on his belief that a global teacher community can be every bit as powerful as any top-down international relief agency
The Best Talk in Town
Peer educator groups--where everyone’s a teacher, everyone’s a student--are springing up all over the country. Here’s why.
The Creek That Wouldn’t Stay Dead
When biology teacher Tom Furrer recruited some students to help clean up a creek in 1983, he didn’t know that soon they’d build and launch a fish hatchery.
The Ideal 21st Century School
George Lucas and Milton Chen focus Edutopia on publicizing the best practices in American schoolrooms today.
The Joy of Building a Chair by Hand
This busy professional took up a travisher, spoke shave and gutter adze, and made himself a classic Sack-back Windsor chair.
The Real Teacher Behind the Movie
The movie Freedom Writers is based on the real-life story of English teacher Erin Gruwell who used literature to awaken her students to the power of expressing themselves in writing. Here, they describe how "Ms. G" changed their lives forever.
The Unstoppable Genius of Michael Graves
This world famous architect and product designer sees his life-threatening illness and resulting disability not as a roadblock but as a portal to new territory to explore, beautify, and make more functional.
To Dig or Not to Dig: Archaeology Vacations
Learn something new about something old when you take an archaeological vacation. Choose a guided tour or get your hands dirty on a dig — either will be a thrill if you're passionate about the ancient world.
Tolstoy and a Haircut: Two Bits
Rueben Martinez’s bookstore started out as a shelf in his barber shop. “Because of books,” he says, “I can have a conversation with anyone.”
Try on a New Career
Here’s a risk-free way to find out what that dream job or business is really like.
Turning Yoga into a Tool for Teachers
Tara Guber and her Yoga Ed. program are helping inner-city kids become better learners.
Warning: This Puzzle May Be Addictive
The story behind the wildly popular brain teaser Su Doku
Web 2.0, Curriki and You
In the quest to educate the world, Web 2.0 offers teachers new ways to share what they know.
What Every Citizen Needs to Know
An exciting way to study history is now being used in 45 schools around the country. Historical documents are accessible to future voters who are developing their own view of our country’s past events and leaders.
What’s 50 Years When It’s Opera?
A program that paired older adults and teenagers to make musical theater together ended up fostering lasting friendships as well.
When You Want to Do More Than Write a Check
Inspired to lend a hand when disaster strikes, people are using their vacations for short-term volunteer projects
Why Creativity’s a Habit and Everyone Can Learn It
The most important choreographer of her generation, Twyla Tharp, shares her very practical ideas on how we all can put our creativity to use.
Why Parents Saved The Oyster School
It’s not only a good education, it’s evenly balanced in Spanish and English.
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