1. Education for Success in Work and in Life
If educationisto move towardgreaterequity,diversity,andinclusion,aspolicymandates,itneedsto
become more intentional aboutdevelopingandshapingmindstoembrace the collective goodinways
that are inseparablefromsocio-economicequality. Sucha view definesthe worldasaninterconnected
ecosystemof diverse humans,nature andthe planet. Insodoing,itembracesa multiplicityof
worldviews,includingindigenousandminorityepistemologiesandideological schoolsof thought. This
tenetiscritical to greaterinclusion;one thatfosterspersonalautonomyandthe commongoodat the
same time. It needstopermeate the learningenvironmentof anyeducationinstitutionthatembraces
diversity;from policyandpractices,toprogramdesign andthe instructional modalitiesinthe classroom.
Too ofteneducationitself hasessentiallybecome aninstrumentforreproducinginequalitiesmerelyby
perpetuatingthe statusquowithoutencouragingandenablingpeople tobecome agentsof social
transformation. Forthisreason,traditional educationsystemsandtheirremnantstodayare often
criticizedashavingcontributedtosubordinatingcolonizedpeoples,eventhough manyof the critical
thinkersandactivistswhoreceivedthatsame educationhelpedtransformthose systems. Some
educationinstitutions,however,intentionallygrow amulti-ethnicclientbase aspartof an effort to
promote valuesof mutuallybeneficial cooperationinsuchaway that evencompetitionentailsstriving
towardachievingsome largergood thatenhancesoursharedhumanity. Itisthiskindof educationthat
will be the antidote tothe demonizingof the ‘other’thatiscurrentlytearingatthe fiberof American
society,sopronouncedinthe currentelectioncycle. Toimagine sucha tenetof equityandinclusionis
to engage inthe deconstructionof the prevailingmodernistepistemologiesthattendtoseparate heart
and mind. Rather,letourepistemologiesbe those thatfosterstudentslearningtoappreciate their
agency in contributingto the widergoodforsocietyandthe planetevenastheyenhance theirown
economicproductivity.
Interactive multi-stakeholderissuemanagementprocessescanhelpfostersuchaclimate of diversity.
Theyprovide amechanismforengagingparents,communitymembers,andother local education
stakeholders anopportunitytoactivelyengage inimprovingequity,diversity,andinclusion inthe
educationof theirchildren. Suchprocessescan beginwith mappingstakeholdersacross agiven
catchmentarea intohomogeneousconstituentgroups. Background materialsrelevanttothe equity,
diversity,and/orinclusionissue(s) thatarise canbe carefullydesignedandusedtotriggerparticipation.
Volunteergroupfacilitatorscanbe identifiedandorientedtofacilitating follow oncommunity
conversations thatbothraise awarenessandelicitactionideasfordealingwith targetedelements of the
largerequity,diversity,and/orinclusionissue(s) beingaddressed.
In due time, representativesfromeachof the stakeholdergroups canjoina structuredissue
managementforumwhere the ideasgeneratedinthe variousconstituentgroupsare collectively
assessedandprioritized. Thatprocess canyield a groupaction planand elementsof arelatedscore card
that can be usedfor monitoringprogresstowardthe outcomestargetedinthe actionplan. Some will
likelybe advocacyitemsthatneedtobe takento higherlevelplanninganddecision-makingbodiesand
some will likelybe actionitemsthatthe variousconstituentgroupscanundertake themselves.

2. A greatby-productof such communityengagementprocessesistheirpowertogenerate supplementary
after-school orhome-basedlearningactivitiesthatonlyfurtherimprovelearningoutcomes.
Considerableprogresshasbeenmade inrecentyearsinbringingclarityaround the wholeareaof life
skillsinstruction,particularlyintermsof operationalizing social-emotional lifeskillsdevelopmentor
whathas recentlybeenpopularizedas emotional intelligence (EQ). Social-emotional skillsare now
commonlygroupedintothe fourdomainsof self-awareness,self-management,socialawarenessand
relationshipmanagement. Ithas become clearthatskillssuchas these are bestlearned,notinthe
abstract, butin the contextof some otheractionlearningendeavor. Theyare,bynature,all abouthow
the studentmanages external socialrelationshipsandinternal emotionalresponsesinthe course of
participatinginsomethingelse the largergroupisdoingor learningtogether. The twoare tightly
interwovenbutnocourse need focusexclusivelyonsuchlife skillsinisolation. Whatiscritical isthat
learnershave opportunity topause andreflectinthe midstof otheractionlearningactivities onwhat
theyare feelingand onwhatis happeninginhow theyare relatingtoothersinthe group.
Of course the teachersor facilitatorsleadingtheseintegratedactivitiesmust themselves have beenon
the same journeyof becomingaware of theiremotionsandwhat’sgoingonintheirsocial relationships
and,basedon that, howto manage them. Giventhatis a continuum, itmaybe helpful toofferstaff an
opportunitytoengage insome actionlearningformof professional developmentthathelps them
continue to buildtheirownsocial emotional skills.
Recentresearchfindingsconfirmthat90% of topperformersare highinemotional intelligence. EQis
twice as importanttosuccessin life asIQ. IQ is largely staticbutEQ can be increased. EQisso critical to
successthat itaccounts for 58% of performance inall typesof jobs. It’sthe single biggestpredictorof
performance inthe workplace andthe strongestdriverof leadershipandpersonal excellence. Many
Fortune 500 companies nowprovide life coachestoseniorexecutivestostrengthencritical social skills;
skillsthatare oftenneglectedineducationsystemswherecognitive skillsare prioritizedoversocial
emotional skill development. What is interestinghere isthatcompaniestodayare tryingtoclose this
gap because theyhave learnedthatitultimately affectstheirbottomline.
At the same time,evidence hasemergedthatimprovingsocial emotional skillsdirectlyimpacts
academicperformance as well. Itisfor thisreason,then,thatsocial-emotional learning, already
embracedincuttingedge schools,isincreasinglybeingincorporatedintopublicschool systemsacross
the country as well. Notsurprisingly,equity,diversity,andinclusionthriveincontextswhere social-
emotional learningisinfocus. The greaterthe diversitythe greaterthe opportunityforpersonal
developmentandgrowth;growththat ultimatelyleadstogreatersuccessinthe workplace. Because the
culturesof manyminoritiesfocusmore heavilyonthe collectivewholeasopposedtopersonal
autonomy,learninginstitutionsthatfosterequity,diversity,andinclusionhave areadyfoundationfor
buildingsocial emotional life skillsalongside otherlearningpriorities.
Improvingequity,increasingdiversity,andexpandinginclusionentailsembracingmultiple intelligences
and limitingthe dependenceontextbooks,lectures,andworksheetsasthe primarymeansof delivering
the basic skillsstudentsneedtosucceed. Traditional educationtendstohonorthe highlyarticulateor
logical people of ourculture atthe expense of those whoare giftedin otherintelligences;viz.,spacial

3. intelligence,bodily-kinestheticintelligence,musical intelligence,interpersonal intelligence,
intrapersonal intelligence,ornaturalistintelligence. Unfortunately,manystudents stronginone or
more of these intelligences receivelittle reinforcementfortheminschool. They may,infact, endup
beinglabeled‘learningdisabled’,‘ADD’(attentiondeficitdisorder),orsimplyunderachievers,whentheir
unique ways of thinkingandlearningare overlooked inclassroomsheavilybiasedinfavorof linguisticor
logical-mathematical learningstyles. The neteffect,however, isthatthe classroombecomes
impoverishedtothe degree thatthe learningexcludesthe contibutions of those withother
intelligences. Farbetter,then,todesignlearningexperiencesthatcaterto multiple intelligences;
utilizinglearningstylesthat incorporate music,cooperative learning,artactivities,roleplay,multimedia,
fieldtrips, peergroupinteraction, innerreflection, mentorinteraction, journaling, etc., aswell asthe
more familiar“chalkandtalk’methodsof deliveringclassroominstruction.
Reducingachievementgapsforstudentsfromlow income orcultural minorityfamiliesoften requires
improvingreadingfluencyandcomprehensionskills. New modelsforimprovingreadingfluency are
nowavailable thatinvolvestructuredwaysof pairingslowerreaderswithbetterreadersininteractive
exercisesthatcompel studentstoremodel the neuralnetworkthat,inpoorreaders,guidesthe reading
processincorrectly.Once remodeled,the networkyieldscomfortable,natural readingand
understandingof the author’smessage everytime itisaccessed. These waysof improvingreading
fluencyandcomprehensionrely lessonlinguisticandlogical intelligence thando the methodsneeded
for the initial learningof sounds,letters,andsyllables. And,like social emotional learning,improving
readingfluencyandcomprehensionismosteffectivewhenitislinkedtoothercontentor activities that
are part of the studentswiderintegratedlearningexperience.
The most fundamental of educationgoalsare fluentreadingskills,financialliteracyskills,andsocial
emotional managementskills. Mixinglearningstylestoinclude actionmethods suchasstructured
buddyreadingand interactive savingsgroups,all withperiodicmomentsof reflectiononsocial
emotional responses,canleadtolearninggainsthatapplyacross thisbasicskill set.