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Arne Duncan, Former US Secretary of Education; Geoffrey Canada, President of Harlem Children’s Zone and Graham Brown-Martin, Learning {Re}imagined address 250 parents
Arne Duncan, Former US Secretary of Education and Managing Partner, Emerson Collective; Graham Brown-Martin author of Learning {Re}imagined, Founder of Learning Without Frontiers (LWF); and Geoffrey Canada, President, President, Harlem Children’s Zone and Promise Academy Boards.
GEMS Nations Academy recently hosted distinguished leaders in education – Arne Duncan, Former US Secretary of Education and Managing Partner, Emerson Collective; Graham Brown-Martin author of Learning {Re}imagined, Founder of Learning Without Frontiers (LWF); and Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children's Zone and Promise Academy Boards.
Addressing students, parents and teachers, the leaders discussed the importance of inspiring the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders as part of an ongoing series of motivational sessions for the GEMS fraternity. Topics such as the need for flexible teaching that focuses on skills and different learning styles, and real world preparedness were discussed in the two hour session at GEMS Nations Academy.
Talking about the session Mick Gernon, Senior Vice President – Global Head of Innovation, Research and Development said, “Bringing together very dynamic thought-leaders to discuss the future of education with our parents, teachers and school leaders, provided a truly engaging insight into how we need to prepare our young people for the future. Learning has to be relevant and connected to the real-world – we need to fully embrace virtual and artificial intelligence technologies and expose our students so that they develop a deeper understanding of the world around them and that of the future.
Schooling will need to be re-imagined and provide students with the necessary skills, capabilities and fluencies that will enable them to positively influence and shape their communities. In a rapidly changing and technologically-driven world, we have a duty to educate our students for the future, and not for the past.”
Carlos Domingo, a parent from GEMS Nations Academy, shared his view on the event and said, "The day was a wonderful opportunity to experience first-hand how the kids are mastering technology at very early ages and what makes GEMS Nations Academy a different kind of school".
Named as one of the most influential people in the world in the TIME 100 list, and also named one of Fortune’s 50 greatest leaders in the world, Geoffrey Canada is renowned around the world for his outstanding work in helping children and families in Harlem. He served as the President and CEO for the Harlem Children's Zone, which The New York Times called “one of the most ambitious social-policy experiments of our time”. Canada will share how this experiment inspired an entire generation of teachers and educators.
Arne Duncan was the US Secretary of Education from 2009-2015, elected by Former US President Barack Obama. In 2016 he began a new role with the Emerson Collective, an organisation dedicated to removing barriers to opportunity so people can live to their full potential. Duncan’s mission is to motivate young lives to be the catalyst for positive change.
Graham Brown-Martin is the author of Learning {Re}imagined, the bestselling book on global education published by Bloomsbury. He has enjoyed a 30 year career spanning the education, technology and entertainment sectors. He was the founder of Learning Without Frontiers (LWF), a global think tank that brings together renowned educators, technologists and creatives to share provocative and challenging ideas about the future of learning.