美国企业为教育“补牢”？传授关键生活技能
一场新冠疫情令美国教育系统的不平等问题暴露无遗。这些问题表现在很多方面，其中包括宽带互联网使用的不平等和学校资金的巨大差异。贫困、无缘社会优势体系、投资的悬殊，多重因素共同作用，给美国的学龄儿童带来了严重危机。
我们理应做得更好。
经过一年的关停整合，学校已渐渐重新开放，秋季新学期的教育会变成什么样子，学校管理层、教师和家长都拭目以待。幸运的是，各教育机构都有了千载难逢的机会，可以重新考虑课程设置，搭建起一个基础性平台，从而减少系统性不平等，缩小学生间的差距。时不我待，当从这一届学生开始。
摆在面前的是从根本上改变现状的机会。我们必须补足现有教育中缺失的一层，培养学生的技能，指导他们为更有活力、更健康的生活打下基础。谈到教育创新，人们争论的焦点在于：核心课程应该包括哪些？目前的核心课程包括阅读、数学和科学，但个人经济和财务安全、心理和生理健康、可持续的生活方式和环境保护等等方面的知识呢，应该何时传授给学生？我们是否教会了学生为自己、为家庭创造财富和经济机会的技能？关于未来的工作和生活所需的知识，比如数据科学和加密货币，他们了解多少？我们需要为所有学生制定一个更全面、更系统的培养方案，以确保他们能够在成功之路上走得更远，并推动整个教育生态系统的改革。
这个巨大的缺口正是社会教育的短板。我们的学校和教师承担着教育、哺育和保护孩子的艰巨任务。然而，在帮助学生迎接日新月异的未来的过程中，家长和教师往往只可以在互联网上大海捞针般地摸索方向、寻找答案。为了补全几十年来教育界缺失的一层，学校亟需相关资源，以扩展目前核心课程之外的学习。
我自身的这些关键技能，是从实践和错误中学会的。在高中毕业时，我已经具备了一定的微积分和物理知识，但对信用卡透支、申请和管理学生贷款、医疗保健常识一无所知。吃过苦头的我明白这种普遍的教育缺失所造成的代价。它会在日常生活的点滴小事中弄得我们措手不及，会破坏我们的健康、毁坏我们的生活。更有甚者，它常常造成一代一代的恶性循环。这样的例子，不胜枚举。
即便在疫情袭来之前，美国各年龄段的民众对如何建立稳定的经济保障也知之甚少。目前，仅有21个州要求将修读个人财务课程作为高中毕业的条件。与此相应，美国不同种族的家庭净资产差距高达15万美元。有了基本的个人理财知识，对股票和证券有所了解，学生们就能够进而理解金融工具，学习如何积累财富。金融体系变幻不定、暗藏危险。为何不趁年轻人还在学校时就教他们如何开立账户、获取学生资助、管理贷款、建立和维护信用，引导他们进入所有权社会呢？
此次疫情还加剧了心理健康和医疗保健相关问题，这是目前教育缺失中的另外两个环节。根据世界卫生组织（World Health Organization）的数据，约半数的精神健康问题始于14岁之前。如果说隔离措施给我们带来了什么经验教训，那就是，它让我们意识到年轻人承受的孤独。滥用处方药的问题在12年级的学生中非常普遍。近4600万的美国人表示难以负担高质量的医疗服务。我们为何不在这些关键问题上对学生开展大规模教育？
年轻人在求学期间和进入职场后会遇到一连串相互关联的危机。我们应该立即着手重新构架我们的教育体系，着眼于为学生设计一套行之有效的教育蓝图，以解决这些系统性问题，教授生活中的关键技能。
我曾经是州议员，现在是企业家，在职业生涯中，我始终致力于研究、倡导和构建可以实现关键技能教育民主化的技术解决方案。和许多人一样，我一直期待政府在解决社会重大问题上发挥主导作用。但目前看来，公共部门没有能力做到这一点，至少不能够单独做到。行政班子更迭、理念转变、优先事宜变化，导致学生和他们的家庭被朝令夕改的政策和计划弄得措手不及。这种混乱，加上教育经费的紧缩，只可以使得问题积重难返。
然而，还有一条可行之道：让教育民主化、重视美国企业界的作用。为了确保上述关键技能能够纳入全国各地的核心课程，私营部门必须拿出自身的丰厚资源，这既包括金钱，也包括其他支持。简而言之，我们需要更多的私有资金来解决课堂上的问题。
值得庆幸的是，邀请企业投资K-12教育的模式切实可行。十三年来，EverFi公司与Beyond Meat、MassMutual Foundation、万事达卡（Mastercard）、Truist、瑞银集团（UBS）等数百家企业合作，将数字化技能教育的规划引入课堂。通过成功开发可扩展的教育软件，并密切关注知识获取，EverFi与学区、学校、教师建立起深入合作。目前，已经有超过4600万名学生修读了至少一门相关缺失环节的课程。
学习结果令人鼓舞，值得着重宣扬，对学生们的长期稳定和成功起到了关键作用。近期，我们对参加金融知识课程培训的学生进行了一项调查，结果显示，学生们在此领域的知识增长多达22%。这个数据很有说服力，因为它与学生的年龄、性别、年级或社会经济地位无关。既然如此，我们为什么不让全国每一名中学生都从这种教育中受益呢？毕竟，对学校而言，这是免费的，完全由私营企业资助。
EverFi认为，让学生从年幼时就接触这些知识，可以推动整个系统的变革。为了证明这个理论，我们收集建立了一个庞大的数据库，汇集了数百万参加相关课程学习的学生资料。我们将首次分享这些数据，以激励人们重新审视关键技能教育对学生的长远益处。这些数据还将涉及我们从全美各地的学生、教育工作者和学区收集到的关于教育缺失层面的见解，展现补充教育的社会优势。
尽管处在苦痛艰难、挑战重重的历史时刻，为教育重绘蓝图的新合作仍然令我欢欣鼓舞。从现在起，我们有能力补上关键生活技能这一教育短板，从而打破恶性循环。（财富中文网）
汤姆•戴维森是EverFi公司的创始人及首席执行官。
译者：胡萌琦
一场新冠疫情令美国教育系统的不平等问题暴露无遗。这些问题表现在很多方面，其中包括宽带互联网使用的不平等和学校资金的巨大差异。贫困、无缘社会优势体系、投资的悬殊，多重因素共同作用，给美国的学龄儿童带来了严重危机。
我们理应做得更好。
经过一年的关停整合，学校已渐渐重新开放，秋季新学期的教育会变成什么样子，学校管理层、教师和家长都拭目以待。幸运的是，各教育机构都有了千载难逢的机会，可以重新考虑课程设置，搭建起一个基础性平台，从而减少系统性不平等，缩小学生间的差距。时不我待，当从这一届学生开始。
摆在面前的是从根本上改变现状的机会。我们必须补足现有教育中缺失的一层，培养学生的技能，指导他们为更有活力、更健康的生活打下基础。谈到教育创新，人们争论的焦点在于：核心课程应该包括哪些？目前的核心课程包括阅读、数学和科学，但个人经济和财务安全、心理和生理健康、可持续的生活方式和环境保护等等方面的知识呢，应该何时传授给学生？我们是否教会了学生为自己、为家庭创造财富和经济机会的技能？关于未来的工作和生活所需的知识，比如数据科学和加密货币，他们了解多少？我们需要为所有学生制定一个更全面、更系统的培养方案，以确保他们能够在成功之路上走得更远，并推动整个教育生态系统的改革。
这个巨大的缺口正是社会教育的短板。我们的学校和教师承担着教育、哺育和保护孩子的艰巨任务。然而，在帮助学生迎接日新月异的未来的过程中，家长和教师往往只可以在互联网上大海捞针般地摸索方向、寻找答案。为了补全几十年来教育界缺失的一层，学校亟需相关资源，以扩展目前核心课程之外的学习。
我自身的这些关键技能，是从实践和错误中学会的。在高中毕业时，我已经具备了一定的微积分和物理知识，但对信用卡透支、申请和管理学生贷款、医疗保健常识一无所知。吃过苦头的我明白这种普遍的教育缺失所造成的代价。它会在日常生活的点滴小事中弄得我们措手不及，会破坏我们的健康、毁坏我们的生活。更有甚者，它常常造成一代一代的恶性循环。这样的例子，不胜枚举。
即便在疫情袭来之前，美国各年龄段的民众对如何建立稳定的经济保障也知之甚少。目前，仅有21个州要求将修读个人财务课程作为高中毕业的条件。与此相应，美国不同种族的家庭净资产差距高达15万美元。有了基本的个人理财知识，对股票和证券有所了解，学生们就能够进而理解金融工具，学习如何积累财富。金融体系变幻不定、暗藏危险。为何不趁年轻人还在学校时就教他们如何开立账户、获取学生资助、管理贷款、建立和维护信用，引导他们进入所有权社会呢？
此次疫情还加剧了心理健康和医疗保健相关问题，这是目前教育缺失中的另外两个环节。根据世界卫生组织（World Health Organization）的数据，约半数的精神健康问题始于14岁之前。如果说隔离措施给我们带来了什么经验教训，那就是，它让我们意识到年轻人承受的孤独。滥用处方药的问题在12年级的学生中非常普遍。近4600万的美国人表示难以负担高质量的医疗服务。我们为何不在这些关键问题上对学生开展大规模教育？
年轻人在求学期间和进入职场后会遇到一连串相互关联的危机。我们应该立即着手重新构架我们的教育体系，着眼于为学生设计一套行之有效的教育蓝图，以解决这些系统性问题，教授生活中的关键技能。
我曾经是州议员，现在是企业家，在职业生涯中，我始终致力于研究、倡导和构建可以实现关键技能教育民主化的技术解决方案。和许多人一样，我一直期待政府在解决社会重大问题上发挥主导作用。但目前看来，公共部门没有能力做到这一点，至少不能够单独做到。行政班子更迭、理念转变、优先事宜变化，导致学生和他们的家庭被朝令夕改的政策和计划弄得措手不及。这种混乱，加上教育经费的紧缩，只可以使得问题积重难返。
然而，还有一条可行之道：让教育民主化、重视美国企业界的作用。为了确保上述关键技能能够纳入全国各地的核心课程，私营部门必须拿出自身的丰厚资源，这既包括金钱，也包括其他支持。简而言之，我们需要更多的私有资金来解决课堂上的问题。
值得庆幸的是，邀请企业投资K-12教育的模式切实可行。十三年来，EverFi公司与Beyond Meat、MassMutual Foundation、万事达卡（Mastercard）、Truist、瑞银集团（UBS）等数百家企业合作，将数字化技能教育的规划引入课堂。通过成功开发可扩展的教育软件，并密切关注知识获取，EverFi与学区、学校、教师建立起深入合作。目前，已经有超过4600万名学生修读了至少一门相关缺失环节的课程。
学习结果令人鼓舞，值得着重宣扬，对学生们的长期稳定和成功起到了关键作用。近期，我们对参加金融知识课程培训的学生进行了一项调查，结果显示，学生们在此领域的知识增长多达22%。这个数据很有说服力，因为它与学生的年龄、性别、年级或社会经济地位无关。既然如此，我们为什么不让全国每一名中学生都从这种教育中受益呢？毕竟，对学校而言，这是免费的，完全由私营企业资助。
EverFi认为，让学生从年幼时就接触这些知识，可以推动整个系统的变革。为了证明这个理论，我们收集建立了一个庞大的数据库，汇集了数百万参加相关课程学习的学生资料。我们将首次分享这些数据，以激励人们重新审视关键技能教育对学生的长远益处。这些数据还将涉及我们从全美各地的学生、教育工作者和学区收集到的关于教育缺失层面的见解，展现补充教育的社会优势。
尽管处在苦痛艰难、挑战重重的历史时刻，为教育重绘蓝图的新合作仍然令我欢欣鼓舞。从现在起，我们有能力补上关键生活技能这一教育短板，从而打破恶性循环。（财富中文网）
汤姆•戴维森是EverFi公司的创始人及首席执行官。
译者：胡萌琦
The pandemic has cast a bright light on the inequities in America’s education system. These have manifested in many ways, including the lack of equal access to broadband and vast disparities in school funding. Poverty levels, lack of access to the systems that provide societal advantages, and woefully disparate investments have created a symphony of crises for children in American schools.
We are better than this.
As schools are reopening—following a year that gutted many to the core—administrators, teachers, and parents are contemplating what education will look like in the fall. There is some good news. School districts have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink their curriculum and focus on building a foundation that begins to close the gap on systemic inequities. It can begin with this generation of students.
There is an infrastructure opportunity here. We must build the missing layer of education—the instruction that prepares students with the skills to build more vibrant and healthy lives. Central to the debate over education innovation is the question: What should be included in the core curriculum? Currently, it is a combination of subjects like reading, math, and science, but when do we teach students about the building blocks of personal economic and financial security, mental health and wellness, sustainable lifestyles and environmental protection, to name a few? Have we given them the tools to build wealth and economic opportunities for themselves and their families? How are they being prepared for the jobs and skills of the future like data science and understanding cryptocurrency? We need a more comprehensive, structured road map for all students to ensure long-term success and drive ecosystems of change.
This gaping hole is society’s missing learning layer. Our schools and teachers are doing the Herculean work of educating children, feeding children, and advocating for children. However, in order to fully prepare students for an ever-changing future, parents and teachers are left to left to harvest the far corners of the Internet for guidance and answers. To build this missing layer of education—one that’s been absent for decades—schools will need the resources to extend learning beyond the current core curriculum.
I learned lessons on critical skills through trial and error. I graduated from high school with a semi-thorough understanding of calculus and physics, but no appreciation for the implications of credit card debt, accessing and managing student loans, or understanding the health system. I learned, by mistake, the costs built into this widespread illiteracy. It hits us in our pockets and knocks us down by undermining our health. And it often becomes a cycle handed down from generation to generation. This is not a unique story.
Even before the pandemic, Americans of all ages were living without the critical knowledge to build a stable financial future. Today, only 21 states require personal finance coursework as a condition for graduating from high school. Match this with the fact that there is a $150,000-plus racial wealth gap in household net worth in this country. With a foundational understanding of personal finance, including stocks and securities, students can start to understand financial tools and learn how to build wealth. The financial system can be dynamic and perilous. Why not teach young people, as part of their school day, how to open accounts, access student aid, manage loans, navigate their credit, and access the on-ramp to the ownership society?
The pandemic has also exacerbated issues related to mental wellness and health care, two additional crises that reside within the missing learning layer. According to the World Health Organization, half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age. If quarantine has taught us anything, it’s that loneliness weighs on our young people. Prescription drugs taken nonmedically are among the drugs most commonly used by 12th-graders. And, nearly 46 million Americans say they would struggle to afford quality health care. Why not educate students on these critically important issues at scale?
There is a system of interconnected crises facing our youth when they are in school and as they enter the workforce. Now is the time to reimagine our system of education and put more focus on reaching students with a proven educational road map to tackle these systemic issues and teach life’s most critical skills.
As a former state legislator turned entrepreneur, I have spent my career researching, advocating, and building technology solutions for the democratization of critical-skills education. Like many I have expected that the government will lead the charge in solving society’s biggest problems. But it’s no longer the case that the public sector can do this, at least not alone. Governments change, philosophies change, political priorities change, and this results in a whiplashing of students and families with inconsistent policies and programs that are funded one year and gone the next. This churn, combined with tightening education budgets, only contributes to the list of growing problem sets and the lack of meaningful ways to combat these issues.
However, there is a way to address this: by democratizing education and recognizing the vital role of Corporate America. To ensure these critical skills are part of the core curriculum across the country, the private sector must step up with its vast resources, both financial and nonfinancial. Simply put, we need more private funding to tackle these issues in the classroom.
The good news: This model of inviting corporations to invest in K–12 education works. For more than 13 years, EverFi has worked with corporations and organizations— including Beyond Meat, MassMutual Foundation, Mastercard, Truist, and UBS, among hundreds of others—to deliver the road map of digital critical-skills education into the classroom. EverFi has succeeded in these efforts through the development of a scalable educational software solution and close collaboration with school districts, schools, and teachers, along with a maniacal focus on tracking knowledge gain. The result: To date, more than 46 million learners have received at least one course related to the missing learning layer.
The learning outcomes are impressive and worthy of significant discourse, as they play a critical role in a student’s long-term stability and success. According to a recent study of middle school students who took one of our financial literacy courses, students reported a gain of as much as 22% in knowledge on that subject. This data is powerful because the gain is consistent across the board, despite any differences in age, gender, school year, or socioeconomic status of the student. So why not ensure that every single middle school student in the country benefits from this education? After all, it is available to schools at no cost and is funded by the private sector.
EverFi has collected an impressive repository of student learning data to prove our thesis of impact—that reaching students at a young age can drive ecosystems of change. We have aggregated data from the millions of learners who have taken our educational courses, and for the first time, we will be sharing this data to inspire a fresh look at how education on critical skills can benefit students in the long game. This data will also showcase insights we have gathered from students, educators, and school districts nationwide on the societal advantages provided by education on the missing learning layer. EverFi has partnered with Fortune to offer readers an exclusive view of this data through a 10-part “report card” titled The State of Education in America, a series of reported stories that will launch on Fortune.com this fall.
Although this moment in our history will be marked by painful and challenging times, I am inspired by new collaborations that will reimagine education. We can build this missing learning layer of critical life skills and break this cycle, starting today.
Tom Davidson is the founder and CEO of EverFi.
