Change is hard.
So why do it?
Why change and reimagine things like education and our current model for building a workforce? The fact that it has not adequately fed our local emerging industries and our shrinking number of people actually working, should give us all cause for alarm. Frankly, in today’s world, you need more than the traditional education system.
You need purpose, skills, and experience all being powered by creative and critical thinkers in your community.
A few weeks ago I posted a daunting question posed to me by a University of Kentucky professor and innovative risk-taker in the educational space, Dr. Justin Bathon.
He asked, Do you think the future of the city is in the hands of the school district?”
In some ways, I most certainly do. After all, the future is in the hands of the young, is it not? They will have to think and problem-solve us through the unknown and it benefits us all to have them be as smart, empathic, and soulful as possible.
This idea started my journey to implementing innovative business modeling and design thinking strategies which ultimately became the Paducah Innovation Hub, a new approach to vocational learning experiences, and later, Sprocket Inc., a nonprofit digital economic development organization. Follow me through the journey and please keep in touch!