Former President George W. Bush was wrong when he iconically stated "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Actually, it's asked all the time (dubious grammatical structuring aside). Politicians and social influencers are quick to bemoan the state of education, but thoughtful conversations on how we might meaningfully change things for the better are few and far between.
Saving Elephants has assembled an all-star panel to have a real conversation about education: Have we failed to educate our children? To what extent are problems in education a matter of bad policies, structures, or philosophy? What is the purpose of education, and do our schools align with that purpose?
The panel includes:
Brooke Medina
From spn.org
Brooke Medina serves as Vice President of Communications for State Policy Network. She is SPN's on-the-record spokesperson. Prior to joining SPN, Brooke was the Vice President of Communications at the John Locke Foundation, a state-based think tank in Raleigh, North Carolina. Brooke's writing has been published in outlets such as Fox News, The Hill, Entrepreneur, Washington Examiner, WORLD, Daily Signal, and other publications. In addition, she is a contributor to The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society, published by B&H Academic Press. Brooke was also the executive producer of Sowing Resilience, Securing Our Food Supply from Farm to Table, a feature length film about North Carolina's food systems and agriculture industry, as well as A Letter to the King, a film highlighting the historical significance of the Edenton Tea Party, America's first all-female political movement.
Luke Sheahan
From lukesheahan.com
Luke Sheahan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University, Non-Resident Scholar at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania, and editor of The University Bookman. Luke's research and speaking focuses upon civil society and freedom of association. Luke is the author of Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism.
Caylan Ford
From caylanford.com
Caylan Ford is a documentary filmmaker, writer, researcher, charter school founder, and a former political candidate. Born in Calgary, Canada, and earning a Bachelor's degree (Hons.) in Chinese history at the University of Calgary, Caylan obtained a Master's degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and worked on and off as a senior policy advisor for Canada's foreign ministry. Between the birth of her two children she earned another Master's in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. In 2022 Caylan founded Canada's first tuition-free classical charter school network, Alberta Classical Academy. Here is a short video introduction to their work and how they aim to promote knowledge of things that are true, good, and enduring.
