Core academic ability, technical skills and life skills are equally important factors to success and should be taught with equal gusto. Whether students don’t have the resources they need to navigate the school-to-college transition or they are perpetually the new kid in school because their parents serve in the military, my philosophy is that every person deserves to know how to maximize their future opportunities. America simply can’t afford for any of her children to fall short.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Heather is available for public speaking engagements for schools, businesses and conferences. Her presentations are centered on the real purpose of education: creating successful, employed adults.
ECONOMIC EXPERT
For 25 years, Heather Beaven has been focused on how education impacts our individual and collective economy. With her help, tens of thousands of students have moved successfully from school to college, work or military service, so Heather knows our global competitiveness depends on us getting this right.
AUTHOR
Spanning over years of blogs, articles, op-eds, curriculum and media appearances, Heather’s bold ideas reach past the clutter, while her direct style reaches past the chaos with a clear message. Our future as a nation depends on how we get jobs, keep jobs and grows young people to be prepared for those jobs.
THE REAL MISSION OF EDUCATION
Heather believes that the purpose of education is to teach people how to think and work together. Knowledge is of little value if not combined with technical skills and interpersonal abilities. Knowing must be followed by doing and both can only be improved upon by reflecting. Heather imagines a world where schools are graded based upon the success of their students after graduation.
EMPLOYERS ARE THE PRIMARY CUSTOMERS OF EDUCATION
Florida alone spends well over $90 million per year annually on student assessments. Those assessments are meant to measure knowledge but they don’t measure even competency, much less mastery. Yet employers value competency and, ultimately, mastery. The educational system is steeped in group instruction and individual knowledge yet employers value group thinking. Heather believes the disconnect in how and why we educate versus how and why we work causes taxpayers and employers to spend billions unnecessarily.
OVER 25,000 STUDENTS REACHED
Heather Beaven's nonprofit organization, the Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida's Graduates, has reached over 25,000 students through its programs to empower girls to pursue careers in science, engineering, technology and math, help students plan for life after high school, encourage students to stand up to bullying, and inspire minority students to find their voice through technology and art.
Visit the Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida's Graduates
The Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida’s Graduates is supported by
