What if our schools prioritized empathy as much as they did reading and math? What if young people were given regular opportunities to apply empathy as changemakers in their schools and communities? Our world is changing fast. New rules, new openness, and new connectivity require different sets of skills just to keep up, let alone thrive. While we do not know what tomorrow’s problems are going to be, we know there will be many, and we know we will need everyone equipped to deal with them—collaborating, creating, and leading in fluid environments. Knowledge alone is no longer enough. Despite this new reality, only a handful of children are consistently provided with the learning environments and opportunities necessary to help them develop the skills they need to thrive in today’s world. This has to change. Fortunately a growing number of schools in the U.S. and around the world are giving us a window into what education for a changing world looks like. Drawing upon the knowledge and experience of educators within the Ashoka Changemaker Schools Network, Ashoka presents Changemakers: Educating with Purpose. Written through a collaborative writing process called a “book sprint” over the course of just five days, Changemakers serves as an engaging and applicable introduction to what Ashoka refers to as “changemaker education.” A “changemaker,” according to Ashoka’s definition, is someone who has both the will and the skill to make positive change, who puts empathy in action for the good of all. This book, told through the eyes of educators themselves, makes the case that all children can, and should, be changemakers; discusses catalytic environmental conditions that spark changemaker thinking; and illustrates the path forward for education and beyond. The authors of Changemakers: Educating with Purpose include nine expert educators from across the United States. Each of these educators comes from an Ashoka Changemaker School—a leading elementary, middle, or high school that has been identified by Ashoka as an exemplary model for cultivating the skills of empathy, teamwork, leadership, and changemaking. These educators are working to implement this vision in different communities, in different regions of the country, in order to move us closer to a world where everyone—including every child—is a changemaker. In addition to the nine expert educators, four Ashoka staff contributed to the writing and editing of this book. Book Sprints, Ltd facilitated the book writing process. Ashoka is a global organization built on the vision of an “Everyone a Changemaker” world—one in which all people are equipped with the skills and societal support to address any social problem and self identify as a driver of change. To realize this vision, Ashoka’s programs are designed to create one united ecosystem of changemaking that is built upon meaningful partnerships and collaboration. Ashoka seeks to forge the ties and create the platforms needed to achieve large-scale social change by bringing together social innovators; schools; universities; and private, philanthropic, and citizen sector players in the United States and the world, until one day, everyone is a changemaker. Ashoka’s Start Empathy Initiative is working to expand and leverage Ashoka’s network of social entrepreneurs and other changemakers to transform how society understands success in growing up and to drive a movement to make empathy and other changemaker skills a priority skill for all children. Ashoka is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All proceeds will be used to build and strengthen the global community of Changemaker Schools and Ashoka Fellows that prioritize empathy, teamwork, leadership, problem solving and changemaking as student outcomes.
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