I have been thinking a lot about failed systems this week. In particular, we know that poverty is not an accident, nor is it a mere consequence of fate. It is the result of a failed system—one that, in the words of author Matthew Desmond, "exploits the poor, subsidizes the rich, and intentionally segregates affluent and impoverished neighborhoods." Poverty is a symptom of a deeply flawed design, and one of the most devastating aspects of this design is the glaring inequality within our education system.
In this system, affluent students are often privileged to receive an education that empowers them to create systems, innovate, and shape the world around them. Meanwhile, many others are left with an education that primarily teaches them to consume these systems. This divide not only perpetuates economic disparities but also stunts the potential of countless students from underserved communities who could otherwise be driving positive change within our world.
Efforts have been made to bridge this educational divide, but many of them inadvertently contribute to the status quo. Often, we focus solely on nurturing the so-called "Talented Tenth" and increasing representation within a narrow range of professions. While these initiatives are well-intentioned, they sometimes overlook the deeply entrenched structural barriers and biases that persist within these systems.
It is time for a paradigm shift in education reform. We must empower all students, regardless of their zip code, with the tools to disrupt the flawed design of our systems. By doing so, we can create the conditions for profound and lasting change. Education should not be a tool for maintaining the status quo, but a weapon for dismantling it.
Furthermore, we believe social capital is a hidden lever of education reform. At NewComm, we believe expanding social capital networks, both in-person and online, can play a crucial role in empowering Black and Brown students to share resources at scale. By connecting these students and providing them with access to mentorship, opportunities, and support, we can help level the playing field and break down the barriers that have held back so many for far too long.
Now more than ever, it's time for us to stop talking and get to work.
Founder and CEO, NewComm PROJECT
RESOURCES THAT HAVE INFORMED OUR WORK THIS WEEK:
- "We all begin with a story. It is through story that we are connected, not only to each other, but also to our homes, to our lands, to our communities, to our people, to our past, and to our future grandchildren. It is the collection of stories that we are able to hear and witness that will make the whole of our lives and define the shape and character of our community, but also, through the stories, we share and tell and retell what will shape the whole of our future. We organize our worldviews on the patterns of storytelling. [...] Stories help conceptualize what is possible. [...] When we talk about economies, we are still telling a story. In mainstream storytelling paradigms, there is always a need for a hero, usually one, and the idea that we can live happily ever after. [...] In capitalism, land, plants, animal beings, people, places are replaced with numerical symbols that create a system of relationships that can be deciphered by understanding the numerical values and often the predetermined rules of engagement. [...] In mainstream capitalist storytelling and economy, there is an endlessness that captivates and encourages dreaming, even when this leads to extinction of species, destruction of environments, and separation of community and people into more valuable and less valuable. [...]" / Non-Profit Quarterly
- "Are we succeeding when it comes to convincing kids of the value of human-generated writing? What happens when we reframe the conversation by acknowledging that writing is technology? [...] For Plato, writing was a form of technology, and one that threatened basic, human cognitive capacities like our ability to think, remember, and know the true nature of things. He offered other arguments in support of this as well (that I'll address in a later post), but the point I want to explore here are the parallels between Plato's worries about the impact of technology and our current conversation about the impact of AI. [...] Our history with technology over the millennia is a story of using our understanding or knowledge (what the Greek's called episteme) to identify, define, extract, and transfer the powers, capacities, skills, and artful techniques of man and nature (what Greeks called techne) in order to optimize and multiply those capacities in machinic devices and mechanisms manufactured by humans. In other words, unlike any other species, we use our knowledge (episteme) to build technologies (techne) in order to offload capacities that otherwise are limited by the abilities of our human body. And in this case, writing helps us offload the demand to commit things to memory. [...]" / Rooted Edu
- "What is social justice philanthropy? Earlier this year, Resource Generation
, a network of young high-net-worth donors, held a series of webinars addressing this question. The network defines social justice philanthropy as giving that “focuses on the root causes
of social, racial, economic and environmental injustices.” The point, in essence, is to use the resources that often have accumulated precisely because of those injustices to upend the systems that allowed the accumulation of wealth to occur in the first place. But how can this be done effectively? Given that philanthropic capital is rooted in inequitable resource extraction, the inherent conflicts are obvious. Moving toward this justice objective despite those tensions and contradictions was a central theme in a multipart webinar series
the group organized this past May and June. In the conservations, speakers highlighted innovations in social justice philanthropy. At the same time, they readily acknowledged limits and contradictions. A common thread was a call to advance economic systems change by leveraging philanthropic resources to seed a more democratically controlled solidarity economy
. [...]" / Non-Profit Quarterly
- "New research unveils a probable unique human ability to recognize and remember sequential information. Despite being our closest relatives, bonobos struggle to learn the order of stimuli in the same manner as humans. This discovery contributes to understanding the cognitive distinctions between humans and other animals, explaining why only humans possess certain cultural abilities like language and advanced planning. This sequential memory might be the foundational block behind many uniquely human behaviors and capabilities. [...] “The study contributes another piece of the puzzle to the question of how the mental abilities of humans and other animals differ, and why only humans speak languages, plan space travel, and have learned to exploit the earth so efficiently that we now pose a serious threat to countless other life forms”, says Johan Lind, associate professor in ethology and deputy director at the Center for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University. Since September also associate professor of ethology at Link?ping University." / Neuroscience News
FEATURED CONTENT:
??? Introducing the NewComm FELLOWS Documentary: Dream, Vision, Impact! ???
Have you ever had a dream that changed your life? Chidi did, and it led to the creation of something truly remarkable. ??
Join us on an incredible journey as we unveil the NewComm FELLOWS Documentary, a project that began with a dream and transformed into a powerful reality. ????
In the depths of a dream, Chidi envisioned a world where the voices of young high school students would resonate, where their stories would inspire change. ????
And now, with great pride and excitement, I invite you to witness the magic that unfolded this summer with the launch of FELLOWS ??
INSIDE NEWCOMM:
Next week, we will have some incredible announcements to share about new partnerships, new funding, and new appointments. Stay tuned!
HOW TO JOIN IN
Thank you for reading! Feel free to reach out to us?HERE
?if you have any questions. We would love to hear from you. We’ll see you again next week!
