Leading Disruptive Change in Education

From Teach For America to Khan Academy, innovative initiatives have been popping up in the world of education over the last several years, all looking to change — for the better — the way things are done in the field. What is it about the current climate that makes it so ripe for new, big ideas? Rick Hess, Ed.M.'90, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, thinks he knows.

"So much of the world around us is being improved ... by creative, smart, passionate people figuring out how to build things," he says, so why wouldn't educators get in on it?

Barriers are being removed all over the field, changing the landscape for education entrepreneurs. In his Harvard Education Press title, Educational Entrepreneurship Today, Hess and his co-editor Michael McShane, investigate the movement from its beginnings to its current stage, and explore both the innovations and the people behind them.

"What makes somebody a good entrepreneur is the same thing that makes people great educators in the first place," Hess says. "They have a passion for finding ways to better educate and cultivate children's interests, and meet their needs and help them grow as people. They're not wedded to conventional ways of doing things; they're looking for opportunities to solve big and important problems on behalf of kids."

In this edition of the Harvard EdCast, Hess discusses Educational Entrepreneurship Today, and reflects on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur — both in and outside of education.

About the Harvard EdCast

The Harvard EdCast is a weekly series of podcasts, available on the Harvard University iTunes U page, that features a 15-20 minute conversation with thought leaders in the field of education from across the country and around the world. Hosted by Matt Weber, the Harvard EdCast is a space for educational discourse and openness, focusing on the myriad issues and current events related to the field.