American capitalism has a hate-love relationship with the nation’s schools. On the “hate” side is a stream of complaints from business leaders and organizations about the many students, particularly in city schools, who fail achievement tests, are high school dropouts or, if they complete high school, do not have the academic qualifications for college and advanced-skills education. Given these educational failings, they ask, how will the nation’s economic system obtain the workforce needed for … [Read more...]
Building a Village: Lessons in Urban Living from South Korea
“This is a very special house. It’s called the House of Happiness through Communication. People live here like a big family.” Our guide was 12 year-old Seon Jae, and we were standing in front of an unremarkable-looking 3-story brick building in Mapo-gu, a district of the high-rise metropolis of Seoul, South Korea. We were there to learn about Sungmisan, an “urban village” that is forging an alternative model of twenty-first century living. Seon Jae is a student at the Sungmisan School, and was … [Read more...]