Does school have to be boring and repetitive?
No, says Nikhil Goyal, a 2016 college graduate and one of the youngest education reform voices in America.
In his new book, "Schools on Trial: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice," Goyal, 21, says schools ought to bend to accommodate students rather than forcing children to learn in lockstep and labeling them failures if they fall out of step. And he cites the rising trend in progressive schools where children play a big part in what and how they study.
Recalling his own high school years, Goyal describes a high-pressure environment where kids measured their self-worth by the number of AP classes they aced and academic honors they won. Some classmates relied on Adderall and Ritalin to survive, and most were sleep-deprived and stressed out, he said. His belief there has to be better model led him to become an education journalist. Goyal has appeared on MSNBC and FOX and written columns and features for The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In 2013, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
To read more about his ideas for school reform, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
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