How Can the Contemporary Education Framework Be Put into Practice?

Imagine a school in which all students are engaged in the Contemporary Education Framework around the same theme, developing projects that question the way that we meet a basic human need, involving an array of real world activities, an awareness of practices from around the world and throughout history, a theoretical inquiry related to these practices and a deliberation of theories and practices in order to connect abstract concepts that are typically learned at school to the lives we live to make more meaningful, intentional decisions. 

When all members of the school community are involved in a reflective-transformative learning process, sharing their ideas and supporting one another, there is the potential for not just individual change, but change on a larger scale within whole school communities and even beyond.  This is the power of Contemporary Education, with the vision to transform schools into centers of meaningful reflection on how we respond to our human needs practically and theoretically, in the pursuit of healthier lives and more just, peaceful and sustainable societies.

The Contemporary Education Framework can be utilized in school-wide projects, but it can also be used on smaller scale projects within a discipline or across disciplines.  It is most empowering when worked within interdisciplinary projects that involve the entire or a large part of the school community because many important contemporary issues will come up and multiple dimensions of them will be discussed.  By sharing different perspectives and making an array of proposals to address these issues there is a greater opportunity that learning will support students and other members of the school community to make more intentional and meaningful choices in the lives they lead.  And, furthermore, that this can not only be personally transformative, but can change communities and societies. 

Image Source: Hopes and Options by Keith Haring