At Iowa BIG, we've pushed the envelope of re-inventing education so far and so fast that we're seeing some pushback. This is actually a good sign, as we as a State need to have a serious discussion about the need to change education more rapidly than what we're seeing. One area where we find pushback from peers in the United States is in regards to the concept of academic "rigor."

How can we prepare students for the “real world” when many of the future jobs they will tackle have yet to be created, and those that currently exist, already experience radical upheaval and elimination? The answer is to invite the public back into public education. As a rapidly changing world increases the need for authentic and contextualized education, embedding students in real businesses, nonprofits, government organizations, and coworking spaces with real world professionals and opportunities represents the preeminent method of preparing high school students.