No Child Left Unasked

Saul Kaplan wants to put students at the center of the debate surrounding education reform:

The notion of bringing kids into the conversation about what serves them best is beginning to take hold in various quarters. Ellen Galinsky did it in the midst of a cultural debate on whether children were better or worse off when their mothers entered the workforce. The audacious approach of her study became the title of her book Ask The Children. Architects who design the places where kids spend their time are doing more asking, too. Check out, for instance, these photos of the Erika-Mann Grundschule II in Amsterdam. "The school's recently revamped environment is amazing," wrote one commentator, "perhaps not surprisingly as it was designed by the kids themselves …."

Update from a reader: "The quote incorrectly places the school in Amsterdam – it's in Berlin (Utrechter Strasse)."