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lt's time for innovation to transform education

It’s no secret that the U.S. education system is facing numerous challenges. The standardized, one-size-fits-all approach focuses on memorization and rote learning, often failing to cater to the unique needs and talents of individual students. This lack of personalization can lead to disengagement and poor outcomes, leaving students feeling unmotivated and unprepared for life beyond school.

Innovation in education needs funding. But there’s a catch: to receive funding, entrepreneurs usually need to show proof of concept — that their idea works.

That can be tricky for education entrepreneurs who want to think outside the box. In the United States, trusted old models receive funding from legislators because they use outdated measures and assessments to decide “what works” in traditional settings. But it’s exactly those old models and metrics that need to be transformed.

Academic achievement among American students continues to fall behind their global counterparts. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), U.S. students rank 25th out of 37 countries in math proficiency, and similarly low in reading and science.

The fact is, in the U.S., education from 1st to 12th grade has long been more about tradition than innovation. For generations, the school experience has barely changed. Our schools may look the same as our parents’ schools — and their schools looked the same as their parents’. It was more about listening to lectures, memorizing facts, and writing essays than about exploring the things that make each student uniquely themselves.

What if education and imagination could be synonymous? That is the vision the VELA Education Fund aims to realize through its work funding diverse educational models for students across the U.S.

This nonprofit has flipped the script — instead of handing large sums of money to a select few, VELA offers millions of dollars in small grants to thousands of everyday entrepreneurs. This model generates fresh, community-rooted approaches to education. These creators share a self-starting spirit, a desire to meet the needs of the learners and families they serve, and a willingness to rethink the “where, how, and when” of school.

VELA’s model is unique because it instills trust and encourages autonomy in educators, believing that those closest to the problem should be the ones designing its solutions. Unlike other grants, VELA doesn’t require as much proof of concept upfront, allowing funding to drive the outcomes — not the other way around. By awarding smaller grants to a broader range of applicants, it supports a more diverse array of ideas, backgrounds, and educational models. These smaller grants also give recipients the freedom to take risks and be more creative.

“We limit our potential when we limit the people who have access to opportunities to drive social change,” said Meredith Olson, president of VELA. “A few thousand dollars to the right person can fuel innovation on a scale we never imagined.”

So far, VELA has awarded more than $35 million in grants to nearly 2,500 recipients — including microschool founders, homeschool leaders, and many others — who collectively serve over 5 million students across the country. The organization’s continued support sends a strong message to other education funders: trust that families and educators know how to support their learners best — and empower them to do so.

(Adapted from Why we need more Innovation In education & VELA Education Fund Catalyzes Innovatlon In Educatlon)

Atenção: Para responder à questão, considere o texto a seguir.

lt's time for innovation to transform education

It’s no secret that the U.S. education system is facing numerous challenges. The standardized, one-size-fits-all approach focuses on memorization and rote learning, often failing to cater to the unique needs and talents of individual students. This lack of personalization can lead to disengagement and poor outcomes, leaving students feeling unmotivated and unprepared for life beyond school.

Innovation in education needs funding. But there’s a catch: to receive funding, entrepreneurs usually need to show proof of concept — that their idea works.

That can be tricky for education entrepreneurs who want to think outside the box. In the United States, trusted old models receive funding from legislators because they use outdated measures and assessments to decide “what works” in traditional settings. But it’s exactly those old models and metrics that need to be transformed.

Academic achievement among American students continues to fall behind their global counterparts. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), U.S. students rank 25th out of 37 countries in math proficiency, and similarly low in reading and science.

The fact is, in the U.S., education from 1st to 12th grade has long been more about tradition than innovation. For generations, the school experience has barely changed. Our schools may look the same as our parents’ schools — and their schools looked the same as their parents’. It was more about listening to lectures, memorizing facts, and writing essays than about exploring the things that make each student uniquely themselves.

What if education and imagination could be synonymous? That is the vision the VELA Education Fund aims to realize through its work funding diverse educational models for students across the U.S.

This nonprofit has flipped the script — instead of handing large sums of money to a select few, VELA offers millions of dollars in small grants to thousands of everyday entrepreneurs. This model generates fresh, community-rooted approaches to education. These creators share a self-starting spirit, a desire to meet the needs of the learners and families they serve, and a willingness to rethink the “where, how, and when” of school.

VELA’s model is unique because it instills trust and encourages autonomy in educators, believing that those closest to the problem should be the ones designing its solutions. Unlike other grants, VELA doesn’t require as much proof of concept upfront, allowing funding to drive the outcomes — not the other way around. By awarding smaller grants to a broader range of applicants, it supports a more diverse array of ideas, backgrounds, and educational models. These smaller grants also give recipients the freedom to take risks and be more creative.

“We limit our potential when we limit the people who have access to opportunities to drive social change,” said Meredith Olson, president of VELA. “A few thousand dollars to the right person can fuel innovation on a scale we never imagined.”

So far, VELA has awarded more than $35 million in grants to nearly 2,500 recipients — including microschool founders, homeschool leaders, and many others — who collectively serve over 5 million students across the country. The organization’s continued support sends a strong message to other education funders: trust that families and educators know how to support their learners best — and empower them to do so.

(Adapted from Why we need more Innovation In education & VELA Education Fund Catalyzes Innovatlon In Educatlon)

Atenção: Para responder à questão, considere o texto a seguir.

Some ways to reinvent affordable housing in a post-pandemic world

Jan 20, 2022

When more than 90 countries issued stay-at-home orders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 7 billion people across the globe sheltered in slums and informal settlements. Yet, these necessary public health measures offered scant defense against this potentially deadly virus if housing conditions were unsafe. The urgency of the pandemic response spotlighted an inescapable truth: the chronic lack of safe and affordable housing in both advanced economies and developing nations is one of the biggest drivers of health and wealth disparities in our world.

As we grapple with how to adapt to ongoing waves of the virus and move toward rebuilding healthier, more equitable societies, we must expand the global supply of affordable housing by focusing on innovations that champion public health, sustainability, and scalability. These three inextricably linked pillars can drive a new global housing framework that creates more equitable access to affordable housing and, as a result, improves health outcomes, fortifies disaster resilience, and mitigates environmental impact.

Strategies and mindsets to reinvent affordable housing

1. Home as a health solution

The connections between health and home have long been recognized by the medical community. Poor housing conditions have been linked to debilitating illnesses, from respiratory conditions to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, and diarrhea — which is among the leading causes of childhood death worldwide. In many cases, simple upgrades to a home's roof, windows, and floor can have a transformational impact on the health of a family and its surrounding community. A 2007 World Bank study found that replacing a home's dirt floors with concrete can lead to “a 78 percent reduction in parasitic infestations, a 49 percent reduction in diarrhea, an 81 percent reduction in anemia, and a 36 to 96 percent improvement in cognitive development."

But even these small upgrades remain out of reach for many families. In emerging markets, it is common for households to build shelter incrementally as finances allow — a process that can take up to 30 years. The work starts and stops as resources become available, often resulting in increased construction costs and inconsistent quality of materials over time.

Housing entrepreneurs are working to bring affordable, scalable solutions to families that can mitigate preventable, life-threatening health concerns and truly reinvent affordable housing. In Rwanda, upgrading to a concrete floor can cost more than two months' wages for the average family. Nonprofit startup EarthEnable is working with African governments to support housing policy and is using local materials and labor to provide an earthen floor alternative that delivers the same benefits as concrete at a quarter of the price.

As families strive to upgrade their homes, they need access — both physical and economic — to building products that will keep them safer.

2. Investing in sustainable methods that work

In addition to addressing the connections between housing and health, trailblazers like EarthEnable are proving that affordable solutions can also be green solutions. By sourcing materials locally, they are streamlining supply chains, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating employment opportunities within the community.

With the construction sector consuming over 3 billion tons of raw materials each year — more than any other industry — we need to be more intentional about leveraging sustainable and recycled supplies. Once again, startups are leading the way, applying low-cost modernizations to everything from lighting fixtures to pavers that are five to seven times more durable than concrete. In India, ReMaterials recycles packaging and agricultural waste into modular roof panels for families living in slums. These roofs have been shown to reduce a home's indoor air temperature by 10 degrees Celsius, improving quality of life and decreasing the risk of heatstroke.

Governments and housing nonprofits have a critical role to play in ensuring that startups developing these green, affordable housing innovations can scale their products and reach the vulnerable communities most in need.

3. Scaling to reach 1 billion homes

The need to create more adequate housing opportunities around the world continues to grow exponentially, as over 3 million people move to cities every week. Therefore, we must also sustainably and rapidly scale up new construction.

Entrepreneurs around the world are rethinking housing construction from the ground up to produce more efficient solutions.

Increasing the affordable housing supply also requires us to think differently about how we use and prioritize space. By emphasizing spatial needs and constraints in planning new developments, we can improve quality of life by enabling people to live closer to where they work, while reducing traffic and environmental impact. Furthermore, data shows that mixed-income neighborhoods produce better long-term health outcomes and economic mobility for individuals and families.

Governments, corporations, and civil society have important roles to play in advancing disruptive solutions to the chronic shortage of safe, affordable housing around the globe. By supporting innovators with the capacity to expand quickly and effectively, together we can embrace a new global housing framework centered on sustainable and scalable shelter solutions. Only through collaboration can we reinvent affordable housing..

(Adapted from https:/www.weforum.org/stories/2022/01/reinvent-affordable-housing-post-covid19-aworld-habitat-for-humanity/)

Atenção: Para responder à questão, considere o texto a seguir.

Some ways to reinvent affordable housing in a post-pandemic world

Jan 20, 2022

When more than 90 countries issued stay-at-home orders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 7 billion people across the globe sheltered in slums and informal settlements. Yet, these necessary public health measures offered scant defense against this potentially deadly virus if housing conditions were unsafe. The urgency of the pandemic response spotlighted an inescapable truth: the chronic lack of safe and affordable housing in both advanced economies and developing nations is one of the biggest drivers of health and wealth disparities in our world.

As we grapple with how to adapt to ongoing waves of the virus and move toward rebuilding healthier, more equitable societies, we must expand the global supply of affordable housing by focusing on innovations that champion public health, sustainability, and scalability. These three inextricably linked pillars can drive a new global housing framework that creates more equitable access to affordable housing and, as a result, improves health outcomes, fortifies disaster resilience, and mitigates environmental impact.

Strategies and mindsets to reinvent affordable housing

1. Home as a health solution

The connections between health and home have long been recognized by the medical community. Poor housing conditions have been linked to debilitating illnesses, from respiratory conditions to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, and diarrhea — which is among the leading causes of childhood death worldwide. In many cases, simple upgrades to a home's roof, windows, and floor can have a transformational impact on the health of a family and its surrounding community. A 2007 World Bank study found that replacing a home's dirt floors with concrete can lead to “a 78 percent reduction in parasitic infestations, a 49 percent reduction in diarrhea, an 81 percent reduction in anemia, and a 36 to 96 percent improvement in cognitive development."

But even these small upgrades remain out of reach for many families. In emerging markets, it is common for households to build shelter incrementally as finances allow — a process that can take up to 30 years. The work starts and stops as resources become available, often resulting in increased construction costs and inconsistent quality of materials over time.

Housing entrepreneurs are working to bring affordable, scalable solutions to families that can mitigate preventable, life-threatening health concerns and truly reinvent affordable housing. In Rwanda, upgrading to a concrete floor can cost more than two months' wages for the average family. Nonprofit startup EarthEnable is working with African governments to support housing policy and is using local materials and labor to provide an earthen floor alternative that delivers the same benefits as concrete at a quarter of the price.

As families strive to upgrade their homes, they need access — both physical and economic — to building products that will keep them safer.

2. Investing in sustainable methods that work

In addition to addressing the connections between housing and health, trailblazers like EarthEnable are proving that affordable solutions can also be green solutions. By sourcing materials locally, they are streamlining supply chains, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating employment opportunities within the community.

With the construction sector consuming over 3 billion tons of raw materials each year — more than any other industry — we need to be more intentional about leveraging sustainable and recycled supplies. Once again, startups are leading the way, applying low-cost modernizations to everything from lighting fixtures to pavers that are five to seven times more durable than concrete. In India, ReMaterials recycles packaging and agricultural waste into modular roof panels for families living in slums. These roofs have been shown to reduce a home's indoor air temperature by 10 degrees Celsius, improving quality of life and decreasing the risk of heatstroke.

Governments and housing nonprofits have a critical role to play in ensuring that startups developing these green, affordable housing innovations can scale their products and reach the vulnerable communities most in need.

3. Scaling to reach 1 billion homes

The need to create more adequate housing opportunities around the world continues to grow exponentially, as over 3 million people move to cities every week. Therefore, we must also sustainably and rapidly scale up new construction.

Entrepreneurs around the world are rethinking housing construction from the ground up to produce more efficient solutions.

Increasing the affordable housing supply also requires us to think differently about how we use and prioritize space. By emphasizing spatial needs and constraints in planning new developments, we can improve quality of life by enabling people to live closer to where they work, while reducing traffic and environmental impact. Furthermore, data shows that mixed-income neighborhoods produce better long-term health outcomes and economic mobility for individuals and families.

Governments, corporations, and civil society have important roles to play in advancing disruptive solutions to the chronic shortage of safe, affordable housing around the globe. By supporting innovators with the capacity to expand quickly and effectively, together we can embrace a new global housing framework centered on sustainable and scalable shelter solutions. Only through collaboration can we reinvent affordable housing..

(Adapted from https:/www.weforum.org/stories/2022/01/reinvent-affordable-housing-post-covid19-aworld-habitat-for-humanity/)

Atenção: Para responder à questão, considere o texto a seguir.

Some ways to reinvent affordable housing in a post-pandemic world

Jan 20, 2022

When more than 90 countries issued stay-at-home orders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 7 billion people across the globe sheltered in slums and informal settlements. Yet, these necessary public health measures offered scant defense against this potentially deadly virus if housing conditions were unsafe. The urgency of the pandemic response spotlighted an inescapable truth: the chronic lack of safe and affordable housing in both advanced economies and developing nations is one of the biggest drivers of health and wealth disparities in our world.

As we grapple with how to adapt to ongoing waves of the virus and move toward rebuilding healthier, more equitable societies, we must expand the global supply of affordable housing by focusing on innovations that champion public health, sustainability, and scalability. These three inextricably linked pillars can drive a new global housing framework that creates more equitable access to affordable housing and, as a result, improves health outcomes, fortifies disaster resilience, and mitigates environmental impact.

Strategies and mindsets to reinvent affordable housing

1. Home as a health solution

The connections between health and home have long been recognized by the medical community. Poor housing conditions have been linked to debilitating illnesses, from respiratory conditions to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, and diarrhea — which is among the leading causes of childhood death worldwide. In many cases, simple upgrades to a home's roof, windows, and floor can have a transformational impact on the health of a family and its surrounding community. A 2007 World Bank study found that replacing a home's dirt floors with concrete can lead to “a 78 percent reduction in parasitic infestations, a 49 percent reduction in diarrhea, an 81 percent reduction in anemia, and a 36 to 96 percent improvement in cognitive development."

But even these small upgrades remain out of reach for many families. In emerging markets, it is common for households to build shelter incrementally as finances allow — a process that can take up to 30 years. The work starts and stops as resources become available, often resulting in increased construction costs and inconsistent quality of materials over time.

Housing entrepreneurs are working to bring affordable, scalable solutions to families that can mitigate preventable, life-threatening health concerns and truly reinvent affordable housing. In Rwanda, upgrading to a concrete floor can cost more than two months' wages for the average family. Nonprofit startup EarthEnable is working with African governments to support housing policy and is using local materials and labor to provide an earthen floor alternative that delivers the same benefits as concrete at a quarter of the price.

As families strive to upgrade their homes, they need access — both physical and economic — to building products that will keep them safer.

2. Investing in sustainable methods that work

In addition to addressing the connections between housing and health, trailblazers like EarthEnable are proving that affordable solutions can also be green solutions. By sourcing materials locally, they are streamlining supply chains, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating employment opportunities within the community.

With the construction sector consuming over 3 billion tons of raw materials each year — more than any other industry — we need to be more intentional about leveraging sustainable and recycled supplies. Once again, startups are leading the way, applying low-cost modernizations to everything from lighting fixtures to pavers that are five to seven times more durable than concrete. In India, ReMaterials recycles packaging and agricultural waste into modular roof panels for families living in slums. These roofs have been shown to reduce a home's indoor air temperature by 10 degrees Celsius, improving quality of life and decreasing the risk of heatstroke.

Governments and housing nonprofits have a critical role to play in ensuring that startups developing these green, affordable housing innovations can scale their products and reach the vulnerable communities most in need.

3. Scaling to reach 1 billion homes

The need to create more adequate housing opportunities around the world continues to grow exponentially, as over 3 million people move to cities every week. Therefore, we must also sustainably and rapidly scale up new construction.

Entrepreneurs around the world are rethinking housing construction from the ground up to produce more efficient solutions.

Increasing the affordable housing supply also requires us to think differently about how we use and prioritize space. By emphasizing spatial needs and constraints in planning new developments, we can improve quality of life by enabling people to live closer to where they work, while reducing traffic and environmental impact. Furthermore, data shows that mixed-income neighborhoods produce better long-term health outcomes and economic mobility for individuals and families.

Governments, corporations, and civil society have important roles to play in advancing disruptive solutions to the chronic shortage of safe, affordable housing around the globe. By supporting innovators with the capacity to expand quickly and effectively, together we can embrace a new global housing framework centered on sustainable and scalable shelter solutions. Only through collaboration can we reinvent affordable housing..

(Adapted from https:/www.weforum.org/stories/2022/01/reinvent-affordable-housing-post-covid19-aworld-habitat-for-humanity/)