What Really Matters?

What really matters in education? Amid headlines about standardized test scores, global rankings of students from different countries, technology-enhanced learning, the unreasonable costs of higher education, and preparing the workforce of tomorrow, what really matters? If we want to pursue education reform and improvements that truly benefit the lives of current and future students, where should we focus our efforts? In What Really Matters?, Dr. Bernard Bull draws from over twenty years of research and experience to offer ten issues that truly matter if we are going to create rich, meaningful, rewarding, engaging, and impactful learning organizations that are rooted in the best ideas of the past while preparing people for the challenges and opportunities of the present and future. This is a text for educators, school leaders, community members, parents, students, policymakers, and others who aspire to move from educational buzzwords to some of the most important educational challenges and opportunities of our age.

""What Really Matters? is a must-read if you care deeply about how young people will fare in the twenty-first century. Bernard Bull--long a favorite thinker for those who care about transformational learning--offers ten themes that go far beyond the tired arguments that divide many educators. From discovering hidden talents to forging character to finding meaning, Bull offers observations and questions that will keep many of us busy for the next decade, if not longer.""
--Jeff Sandefer, Middle School Guide and Co-Founder, Acton Academy

""In What Really Matters? Bernard Bull brings a deeply moral sensibility to an analysis of issues that all too often are treated as mere technical matters of connecting effective means to unexamined ends. Bull illuminates the ways in which education is inescapably laden with human values and interests, and guides us toward reflectively engaging with fundamental questions of meaning as we make choices in education policy and practice.""
--Michael Olneck, Professor Emeritus of Educational Policy Studies and Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison


Bernard Bull is Assistant Vice President of Academics and Associate Professor of Education at Concordia University Wisconsin. He is the author of Missional Moonshots: Insights and Inspiration for Educational Innovation and blogs about contemporary issues in education at www.etale.org. As an educational consultant, he has worked with K-12 schools, universities, think tanks, education startups, publishers, and government agencies to help face the challenges and embrace the opportunities of life and learning in a connected world.