Jennifer Wolverton: A Futuristic Look at Huntsville, the Education Prototype


credit: Flickr

In 2043, the city of Huntsville, Ala., became "the nation's epicenter for educational innovation" thanks to a wave of "micro schools" that sprouted up around the city and resulted in a "competitive marketplace driving innovation and excellence," according to a profile in the Houston Chronicle.

"Parents had decision-making power" and "refused to accept that they were passive recipients of what was handed to their children," the profile says.

"Children of all ages filed into churches, libraries, public parks, and YMCAs to experience community-centered learning."

Over the next 20 years, thousands of families requested "unbundled education" options that included private and public schools, robotics classes, and more.

"If a student had a passion for robotics, they could enroll in specialized robotics classes at the local public school, while taking debate, history, and language lessons at a nearby classical microschool," the profile says.

Huntsville also held the record for the most people with PhDs in America.

"A sense of unity took root in Huntsville as all children, regardless of where they received their education, came together to play sports at the community recreation center," the profile says.

"All two hundred corporations in Research Park gave the ultimate benchmark for other towns

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Ganesh Natarajan is the Founder and Chairman of 5FWorld, a new platform for funding and developing start-ups, social enterprises and the skills eco-system in India. In the past two decades, he has built two of India’s high-growth software services companies – Aptech and Zensar – almost from scratch to global success.




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