Valerie Hannon
The Innovation Unit is delighted to support Whole Education because we want to be a part of a broad range of alliances working towards fundamental transformation in education across the globe. Whist we have seen phenomenal change in almost every aspect of our lives, the formal education system in this country remains rooted in a 20th – sometimes 19th! – Century paradigm, which is no longer serving the needs of young people or indeed society.
The nature of knowledge, and the skills we need to acquire and utilise it, have changed profoundly. Young people themselves – whenever they are given a chance to be really heard – are telling us that they are bored or disengaged. Perhaps even more fundamentally, there is a deep disconnect between the old economic imperatives for education systems and the new need for adaptation and sustainability. Young people often grasp this whereas the outdated formal system does not. We need now to grow a widespread demand, probably led by learners themselves, for a transformed, ubiquitous and ‘whole’ learning system.
From our Next Practice project with schools to create Communities for Learning, our partnership with Paul Hamlyn Foundation on Learning Futures, with Cisco on the Global Education Leaders Program or in helping to connect third sector innovators to education commissioners through the Innovation Exchange, we are actively working to provide young people with a ‘whole’ education. Along with our other Whole Education partners, in the spirit of collaboration and generosity, we will work together to help practitioners provide young people with the education they need for the 21st century, and to influence policy to be more supportive of that.
Valerie Hannon
Board Director
Innovation Unit