This book makes the case that the health of our democracy depends on the wellbeing of our teachers. Our education system must be equitable and driven by the collective expertise of teachers if our democratic society is to survive.

In the book, a diverse group of award-winning classroom teachers from across the country, as well as some of the world's leading education researchers share their perspectives on some of the most pressing educational issues we face today - inequities exposed by the pandemic, breaking systems of oppression, addressing the teacher pipeline crisis, classroom practices that develop democratic values, and so much more. 

I am inviting all of you to join me and some of the book's authors at both a book launch event this Saturday and a free book club where we will examine each of the book's 5 sections. 

You can register for the book launch event on Saturday from 10AM-Noon EDT by clicking here. In addition to talking about the book with chapter authors, we'll be giving away Flip the System T-shirts, signed books, and other swag. Make sure to click the link above to let us know you'll be joining. 

The book club is open to the first 30 people who register at bit.ly/ftsus-bookclub. Meetings will take place over Zoom and will be from 7-8PM EST on Nov. 12 and 19, and Dec. 3, 10, and 17. 

You can purchase the book and watch bonus content - recorded interviews with most of the chapter authors - at FlipTheSystem.US.

I hope you will join me on Saturday for the book launch and enjoy reading the incredible narratives and expertise of the authors as much as I did as I edited their chapters. 

The United States is teetering on a dangerous ledge, and our democracy is in crisis. Civil unrest is never a coincidence. Those who feel included, those who feel understood, those whose needs are being met, those who feel safe, those who feel like they have power don’t take to the streets. The protests that are happening in every major American city are the product of broken systems.

Democracy, at its core, is a form of government in which the people have the power. When this becomes untrue, democracy fails. In American systems - political, economic, healthcare, education, law enforcement, and others - power has been consolidated by a select few. Those select few don’t tend to look like George Floyd. Or Breonna Taylor. Or Ahmaud Arbery. Or Loreal Tsingine. Or so many others who have had their lives needlessly taken.

Those with the ability to do so have leveraged their wealth and political power to construct in their image the systems that are supposed to serve and be controlled by the people. 

To save American democracy, we must flip our systems and give agency equitably to all. Decisions must be driven by the life experiences, expertise, and intimate knowledge of the communities that are most impacted by those decisions. Top-down hierarchies that systemize marginalization and consolidate power must be shattered, redesigned, and rebuilt. 

Solutions developed without complete understanding of their implications at the point of execution lead to unintended negative consequences at best, and intended negative consequences at worst. Not all who suffer from the erosion of democracy in our systems are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), but we cannot begin to fix what is broken without acknowledging that race impacts opportunity in the United States. 

As a teacher, I know that education is part of the solution. That’s why I spent the last year bringing together the diverse voices of some of the United States’ most accomplished teachers, students, and educational researchers to share an optimistic vision of how we can create a flipped American education system in Flip the System US: How Teachers Can Transform Education and Save Democracy. Public education is the foundation of democratic society, and the United States can’t be healthy unless our public schools are. But our survival as a democracy depends on flipping all of our systems - not just education.

When 3 Americans (not 3%) own more wealth than the bottom 50% of the rest of us, and the stock market surges as 40 Million Americans file for unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is obvious that our economic system is not democratic. The American people are being exploited for the benefit of the self-anointed aristocracy. How many Americans will be affected by the economic disaster that is unfolding? How few will benefit from a rallying stock market? How few of those who benefit will be BIPOC, who have been systematically prevented from building generational wealth through racist housing and education policies? 

COVID-19 has exposed the great inequities in our healthcare systems. Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans have been disproportionately affected. Those in the lowest paying jobs have both had less opportunity to transition to much safer remote working and have been most likely to lose their jobs that provided health insurance. Of course, not all of those in poverty are BIPOC, but the systemic economic issues mentioned above have ensured that they are disproportionately represented. 

It’s often mentioned that the path to meaningful change is through voting. And, in a healthy democracy it would be. But, the consolidation of power in our political systems have ensured that each American’s vote is neither equally weighted, nor equally able to be cast. Voter suppression efforts that close polling places in targeted areas, gerrymandering, the egregious influence of money in our political system, and corruption - which has been legalized in many cases to protect the powerful - have all been used to marginalize communities of color and the working class. Everyone who is able must use their vote to demand meaningful change, but we cannot be blind to the fact that flipping of political systems must happen at the same time. 

I have intentionally left our law enforcement systems for last. BIPOC deaths at the hands of police are not isolated events. They are part of interlocking systems of marginalization that lead to power imbalances for entire communities. These deaths are an inevitable outcome when certain members of a society have the systematic agency to wield power over others. Not all police officers are bigoted, but all operate within systems that codify racism - systems that we, as Americans have allowed to perpetuate and erode our democracy. Each of us must own our complicity and commit to action both to repair the damage that has been inflicted and to ensure it stops. 

Democracy is not granted. It is earned. There is no cosmic law that bestows democracy on the American people. If we want to keep it, we must go about doing the work of earning it. And, that work will be hard. All important work is. 

Those who are peacefully protesting right now are doing that work. They need our support. This civic outcry cannot end without positive change, and that change must extend to all of our societal systems.

I will not presume to have solutions to the issues we have with policing in the US. As a straight, white, male, I am about as privileged as one can get. When I’m pulled over I don’t worry about much more than whether I will get a ticket. I can go for a walk in an affluent neighborhood and not be viewed with suspicion. My children have never feared for their lives or those of their family members. 

What I do know is that solutions must be developed, implemented, overseen, and constantly evaluated by the communities that have been most traumatized. That requires those in power and those who look like me to listen, empathize, and be willing to cede some of the power we have in order for others to lead. It’s the only way to stop the cycle we are in. 

If we restore true democratic control of our systems to all the people, rather than a select few, we can prevent American Democracy from being described in future history books as a 250 year failed experiment. Past history has shown us that collective power of the populace can be more powerful than the corrupt few - if the people can come together and demand change. I believe that we can. 

But, the time must be now. Justice cannot wait. Incremental change is prolonged trauma. 

We must unify and act, because the drop from that ledge on which we stand is a death sentence for both our democracy and far too many of our fellow citizens.

Preparing our students for the complex world they will face after they graduate from our schools will require our schools and teaching practices adapt to these realities. Knowledge and content are important, just as they always have been. How our students are able to apply that information to solve the complex environmental, social, political, and ethical challenges on the horizon is critical.

For the past few months I have been fortunate to work with school directors, policy makers, and teachers in Kenya, Greece, Spain, and across the United States on ways that we can help students develop the academic, social-emotional, and critical thinking competencies they will need to be successful in their future. One of the best ways I have found to do that is to allow student to apply the design process to problems they identify through classroom connection and global learning experiences.

At the end of October I had the opportunity to keynote the Alaska Cross Content Conference (AKCCC) and spend two breakout sessions to do a deep dive into the role of teachers in preparing students in this way. *

My opening keynote focused on "Why Teachers Are More Important than Ever." As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous in our lives, characteristics that are uniquely human such as empathy, compassion, and love will become more important. Teachers, who exemplify these traits, are also in a prime position to develop them in our students.

The breakout sessions gave teachers practical tools and techniques they could use to help students develop all of the skills vital to their future success. The first, "Connected Classrooms and the New World of Learning" allowed practice with powerful tools that provide global learning experiences to students. Cultural understanding will become increasingly important as technology brings our global society closer.

A game of Mystery Skype was a highlight of the session. To show how easy it was to connect with others, we used Skype to connect with former Top-50 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, Elisa Guerra, and her daughter Annie. Participants in my session did not know where Elisa and Annie were located, and they didn't know where we were. Each group took turns asking yes/no questions in order to try and guess the others' location first.

Next I shared how easy it was to find teachers across the globe willing to connect their classes to play games like Mystery Skype, as well as Skype Lessons and Virtual Field Trips available on the Skype in the Classroom website.

The second breakout focused on how we can combine design thinking with these global experiences to empower our students to take action for social good. After exploring TeachSDGs and how the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals can be used as a lens through which global problem solving could be viewed, we spent time on an activity to practice using the design process to solve a problem in a rural community in Kenya.

I've always found that teachers are best able to implement new strategies and tools when they are given time to experience them firsthand.

The world is getting more complex and technological, and our students will need to develop cultural competencies and problem solving strategies in order to be successful in their future. Combining the design process with the Sustainable Development Goals, and providing teachers the training to bring new tools and pedagogical models to students is vital.

If the educators at AKCCC and the other locations around the globe with whom I've been working are any indication, our future is bright. The enthusiasm and dedication I saw in these teachers and administrators showed me that our students are in good hands. If we provide our educators with the support they need to be successful in meeting the demands on the horizon, our students will shape the planet they will inherit from us in profound, positive ways.

*Disclosure: While Microsoft Education paid my travel expenses to attend and speak at this conference, the views expressed there and on this blog are based on my experience.

Michael Soskil is a speaker, teacher, author, and host of the Education for a Better World Podcast. He is the 2017–18 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year and was named one of the top 10 teachers in the world by the Global Teacher Prize in 2016. The book he co-authored, Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has been called “an authoritative guide to teaching practice over the next three decades” and has been endorsed by world leaders in government, education, and business. To learn more about Michael’s work or to inquire about him speaking at your next teacher workshop or event, please visit his website at MichaelSoskil.com.