School classes start too early. The problem affects most countries worldwide

School lessons should not start before 8:30 am, scientist warn. The circadian cycle of children, especially those over 10, is…

Jolanta Okuniewska: Every true teacher has reflexivity and flexibility

Interview with Jolanta Okuniewska, early school education teacher and teacher trainer. She has received numerous national and international awards for…

Outdoor movement has a beneficial effect on children’s mental and physical health as well as social development. Sadly, schools barely meet this need

Physical activities and contact with nature prevent physical illnesses, reduce stress in children, ensure fuller intellectual development, and positively affect…

Mariola Bogucka, Ph.D.: Believing young generation is inferior means losing touch with reality

An interview with Mariola Bogucka, an English philologist, Ph.D. in social sciences, and academic teacher at the University of GdaÅ„sk….

Vacation brain drain. How to stimulate children intellect during holidays and “landing back” at school?

While an extended break from school is highly beneficial for students’ mental well-being, it has a worse effect on their…

Education of unequal opportunity. African girls still don’t have as much access to schools as their brothers, international organizations alarm, and HTT research confirms

Education in sub-Saharan African countries is still a privilege, not a natural experience. Especially for girls.

Justyna Pokojska: Education determines conscious living. That’s why we created IDS

An interview with Justyna Pokojska, Ph.D., HTT’s executive director. The interview was conducted by RafaÅ‚ Cieniek, a journalist working for…

Teaching children with special educational needs is a mission

Interview with Barbara Skrok, an English teacher with over 40 years of experience and trainer of other educators in teaching…

Piotr Walda: Stop punishing children for our own mistakes. It’s not right

Piotr Walda, history teacher: Sometimes I hear pedagogues saying, “This kid is so stupid, he didn’t learn again.” Zero self-reflection,…

Feel the energy of the HTT Summit 2023. Watch the video shortcut

We present the movie from HTT Summit 2023 – a unique gathering of teachers from around the world who came…

Małgorzata Nowakowska: As a teacher and as a mother, I dream of schools that teach how to live wisely

An interview with MaÅ‚gorzata Nowakowska, physicist, school teacher, founder of the blog “Fake news busters,” and Copernicus Science Center employee….

Reputable pedagogue: If we are serious about the future, there is no sector more worth investing in than education

Interview with BogusÅ‚aw Åšliwerski, pedagogue, professor at the University of Łódź, chairman of the Committee on Pedagogical Sciences of the…

Edyta Kłeczek: One of the fundamental mistakes in relationships with students is an assumption that we don’t need each other

Interview with Edyta KÅ‚eczek, historian, an English teacher at a primary school in Brzeźnica near Skawina (MaÅ‚opolska), school coordinator of…

How to remain Human in the World of Artificial Intelligence

Prof. Ryszard Tadeusiewicz: Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, we can build a future where everyone lives with dignity. But for the…

Dr. Joanna Górecka: It’s time for schools to be a place of humanity

Interview with Joanna Górecka, a doctor of humanities, a Polish language teacher at the “No Bell” school in Konstancin-Jeziorna, and…

Are we mature enough to become people? Holistic approach to education

Johann Friedrich Herbart, a German educator and philosopher, wrote in 1806: “A part can be measured on the whole, it…

Pasi Sahlberg: We hold on to traditional ideas and methods, but the world has changed. Everything has changed. Schools should reflect this

Interview with Pasi Sahlberg, one of the creators of Finland’s phenomenal education reform, professor of education policy at the University…

Jo Johnson: School should teach how to make space between one’s thoughts

An interview with Jo Johnson, Project Specialist at The Innovative Learning Center for Adult Education in West Michigan (US). Formally…

Dr. Ryan Bramley from the University of Sheffield: If teachers don’t care for young people’s feelings, wants, and needs, then that crucial element of education gets missed out. 

Interview with Dr. Ryan Bramley from the School of Education at the University of Sheffield, a grantee of the first…

Human Restoration Project: If we start with humanity within the school, then we can expect to see humanity in the world outside

Interview with Nick Covington and Chris McNutt, co-founders of the Human Restoration Project, a non-profit organization promoting human-centered school education,…

The second phase of the Holistic Think Tank program is launched. HTT awards the next tranche of grants to its partners

We are preparing to launch the second edition of the Holistic Think Tank grant program for two partner organizations –…

Fab Foundation: We need to transform schools before we lose children entirely

Interview with Sherry Lassiter, President and SEO of Fab Foundation, and Rodney Williams, who works there as a Program Manager….

HTT executive director in a press interview: The student-teacher relationship will no longer be a hierarchical one

Justyna Pokojska, an executive director of HTT and Ph.D. in sociology, gave an extensive press interview for the “Dziennik Polski”…

HTT Summit 2023. We present the agenda of inspiring workshops

At the HTT 2023 Summit at Ohio State University, Columbus, attendees will not only hear lectures by global education experts…

HTT Summit 2023: a great venue and an agenda full of inspiring activities. See you on March 4!

The HTT educational summit at Ohio State University, Columbus, US, is coming soon (March 4). On the agenda, among others,…

Prof. Dominika Dudek: I dream of schools that teach students how to deal with stress

Interview with Prof. Dominika Dudek, psychiatrist, president of the Polish Psychiatric Association, head of the Department of Psychiatry at Jagiellonian…

Anna Szulc: Yesterday’s teachers are using the day before yesterday’s methods. How is it supposed to work well?

An interview with Anna Szulc, a mathematics teacher from Kazimierz Wielki High School in Zdunska Wola, Poland, who does not…

Book review: Smartphones Epidemic by Manfred Spitzer

The book of Manfred Spitzer provokes thoughts about the impact digitalization bears on our existence. According to the author, one…

An innovative educational project is being launched. Holistic Think Tank invites up to 100 school teachers to join it

Holistic Think Tank aims to create a common base of lessons’ scenarios built on the values from the What School…

The price of success. Is Korean “education fever” a warning or an inspiration?

As recently as the 1950s, South Korea’s economy was not too different from those of sub-Saharan African countries (calculated by…

Digital competence’s awareness, cooperation, and sense of empowerment. Our grantees point to the most important values in education

Three grantees are working with us to develop and implement an interdisciplinary subject (IDS). And while they share a mutual…

Toward the „thriving” relationships in Polish schools

The amount of studying imposed on students is a systemic problem, not the teachers’ idea – says one of the…

IDS GRANTS SUMMARY: to design Interdisciplinary Subject

Introduction Holistic Think Tank’s mission is to make schools around the world raise learners ready for the challenges of the…

Zimbabwe: Hopes of the teachers and dreams of the students

Schools ought to teach what is relevant and applicable in the day-to-day interaction in life, either at work or in…

Philippines: The world’s awakening. Mankind is beginning to understand that the future starts with education

Currently, various countries all over the globe – following the global educational trend that emphasizes 21st-century competencies – have undertaken…

Kenya: lessons learned. What should we pay attention to while introducing the education reform

In 2015, Kenya began introducing a new holistic and interdisciplinary curriculum. Its premise – to raise a generation that will…

Designing interdisciplinary lessons: an inspiration toolkit

As a result of research conducted by HTT in order to develop new educational solutions, we announced an international competition…

The University of Sheffield on the way to IDS curriculum

HTT RESEARCH SUMMARY: different countries share the same dream of a better school

1. Introduction The Holistic Think Tank aims to improve the functioning of schools worldwide by moving away from the traditional…

How to make schools catch up with the 21st century?

Today’s students need a multi-dimensional set of skills: the ones for both their present and future lives, abilities they can…

When more is less

The dominance of private education, overprotective parents helping children with their homework, and numerous tutors – this approach to education…

Kids always want to know more, but teachers hit systemic obstacles

Most teachers dream of education that will develop students’ talents, show them how to resolve problems, communicate efficiently, analyze sources…

School is a miniature society

South Korean participants in the HTT research project see school as a community that reflects the society in general. By…

“Emotional touch with creative design” – Inspiration from Korean interdisciplinary approach to education

STEAM education tries to integrate the learning experience, with a focus on connecting the subjects of science, technology, engineering, mathematics,…

Brazilian vision of education – socioemotional skills in the forefront

The core of the Brazilian curriculum fosters ten general competences that contribute to the holistic formation and education of children.…

Join education experts at the HTT Summit in Ohio (4.-5. March 2023)

See and feel the heart of education all over the world

Towards humanization of school curricula

The essence of the change is to go beyond the comfort zone.

“There is one world – let’s learn to look at it as a whole, through the lens of various subjects,…

My media. My power. My world.

As one of the Holistic Think Tank grant program beneficiaries, the University of Sheffield, has prepared its own concept of…

“School should not just be a four-walled classroom”

Teachers who took part in the HTT research project in Brazil dream of a student-centered and  reality-based education that inspires…

What Should Schools Teach? A Phenomenography of School Environments

What kind of skills and knowledge should be taught in schools for the world’s better future – this was the…

South African schools on the path to interdisciplinary education

South African participants in the HTT research project stressed the importance of holistic development of students which is most successfully…

South Africa: Schools are not isolated entities

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom…

Galina Zenin: “Music provides the children with an opportunity to learn about the world in a holistic way by being wholly engaged”

In an old photo Galina’s head is adorned with a huge white bow, she is wearing a short brown dress…

Prof. Magdalena Ślusarczyk: “Nowadays it is not easy to talk about universal values, because we live in a world of their pluralism”

Professor, we are really grateful for this opportunity to talk to you. For us, Holistic Think Tank, it is really…

Educational journey into the unknown begins with leaving the familiar port

We sometimes hear the expression of a rather melancholic notion that we were, in fact, born too late to have…

School should stress the mutual permeability between various fields of study, along with the permeability of values

Children starting off on their educational journey ought to be provided with opportunities to develop in many different directions. Emphasis,…

Interdisciplinary School Subject (IDS): The point is to do inquiry based learning

Holistic Think Tank recently awarded a research grant to Fab Lab Foundation for creating a new interdisciplinary subject. Today we…

Approaching the global issues  based on interdisciplinary knowledge, values, and skills

Education for global citizenship, in its critical rather than “soft” version, invites students to question existing social order and to…

What kind of citizenship should be taught at school?

Functioning in a relationship with the state should be an important part of the life of each and every one…

The role of the school is to teach how to learn

“What is the purpose of the school?” – this question seems to have an obvious answer. The objective of the…

“Mathematics is something more than a subject based on the data”

Travelling through different places allow for observing rich fauna and flora, describing the landscape and recording the most beautiful views.…

Holistic Think Tank Methodological Manifesto

1. A methodology to match the approach to the world and to education At Holistic Think Tank we are primarily…

Communication triad – is a mature educational dialogue possible?

Communication is a basic tool of knowledge transfer in a school situation. The child and the adult communicate with each…

Computational thinking as a fundamental skill used by everyone by the middle of the 21st Century

We all agree that the school should not only impart knowledge, but also help develop specific skills. The catalog of…

“Empty Pedagogy, Behaviorism, and the Rejection of Equity” – Chris McNutts diagnosis on the educational reality.

The use of techniques based on the achievements of behaviorism stirs rampant emotions among education specialists. It is worth remembering,…

The question returns like a boomerang: How to make pupils want to learn?

The Holistic Think Tank team has been working for many months on an international research project on primary school education.…

Maciej Winiarek: “We need to flip the classroom relationship and put the student in the center of the education system”

“I think we should increase the potential of children now, which will enable them to take responsibility for their own…

Does homeschooling teach what schools do not?

Statistics indicate a growing interest in homeschooling among many members of the public. In Italy, over the past two years,…

Neither education nor production systems are tailored to develop 21st century competences

Today we face the reality of modern society: neither education nor production systems are tailored to develop 21st century competences.…

Holistic approach in education

A list compiled by the Holistc Thnik Tank researchers – Jan Bazyli Klakla and Katarzyna PajÄ…k-ZaÅ‚Ä™ska – based on preliminary analyses and…

What School Should Teach Research: Case Study of Philippines (Summary)

The school in focus is located in one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the Philippines. It was established…

What School Should Teach Research: Case Study of Poland (Summary)

The research aim of the project is an investigation into a particular school environment along with the roles played by…