NOVA

How do you want to wear it today?

Children.

"Meets new friends."

Our most valuable resource.

Clap your hands!

In a rapidly changing world,

how are we preparing them for the future?

Our kids are going to have to work with knowledge

that hasn't been discovered yet

on technologies that haven't been invented yet.

How can schools today

help students of all backgrounds meet the challenges of tomorrow?

Inequality in the United States is our Achilles' heel.

We want a world where regardless of where you are born,

you have got an equal shot.

Can science help us find a way

to give all children an equal shot?

What do you think?

You look like an astronaut, maybe?

We shouldn't be asking kids to beat the odds.

We should be using science to change the odds.

Cortex...

Today's researchers are peering into the brain,

trying to unlock the secrets of how children learn.

Reading is not a skill that the brain is wired to do.

What does that say?

"Autumn"?

Yes.

We're trying to get to the point

where I can say that this is the magic

that will really help enhance school performance.

So we might rethink the word "reflection."

Can their discoveries help educators transform our schools?

I want to smell it, I want to taste it,

I want to know how it looks.

It is possible

to change the brains of children

in ways that can level the playing field.

How many people saw the growth?

Individual children who think differently,

who learn differently, or are on different paths

can now get the thing that works best for them.

That's why!

The stakes could not be higher.

Public education K-12 is not a terminal degree.

It's the beginning of the rest of your life.

Ready, set...

Go!

Look at that!

"School of the Future," right now on

Major funding for is provided by the following...

When freshman Omar Gaytan skateboards to school,

he's careful to take the same route

and wear the right colors.

In the streets, the main thing you got to worry about:

violence, gangs.

It's not as violent as it used to be,

but, like, there's still a gang presence.

If they do something to you, you're expected to retaliate.

Across the freeway, Cole McFaul,

a senior at one of California's top-ranked high schools,

raises a different kind of worry.

I think some people at our school

do feel a need to succeed,

and they push themselves really hard.

There's, like, this mentality that,

"Oh my gosh, I need to do well.

I need to work super hard."

This is Silicon Valley.

The home of Apple, Google, and Facebook,

it is also home to two very different communities

separated only by a freeway.

In these two cities,

Palo Alto and East Palo Alto,

life is entirely different.

The resources for children are entirely different,

the opportunities are entirely different,

the schools are entirely different,

We have students who really want to succeed,

and if success means learning in a certain path,

they're going to really be ultra-focused on that.

We have a lot of students who are helping to pay the rent,

not just adding a little bit here and there,

but literally paying the rent.

All over the country, you can find these contrasts.

Inequality in the United States is our Achilles' heel.

Each year across the country, millions of children participate

in a public education system built on a promise:

that all students deserve an equal opportunity to learn

regardless of zip code.

But for many students, a long history of inequity

has left that promise unfulfilled.

The United States is nowhere near the top of the list.

Students from Asia to Europe outperform Americans on tests.

Every five years,

students from around the world

take a unique test that consistently shows

Americans ranking well below their peers

from other industrialized nations.

But that is not whole story.

In fact, part of the American public education system

is doing pretty well.

We actually rank first in the world in reading

in schools that serve fewer than ten percent of kids in poverty.

America has a child poverty rate

nearly double that of countries like Canada and Germany,

who outperform the United States.

High-performing nations on PISA scores

have very tiny percentages of their kids in poverty.

We just have a much steeper slope in this society to climb.

If you're designing a system that ensures that poor kids

and kids of color are going to get less

of everything that we know matters the most

in public education, then...

then you have a civil rights quagmire.

In spite of increased attention on education,

in some states, nearly one third of low-income students

never finish high school.

Let's be clear...

The achievement gap is caused by the opportunity gap.

It hobbles far too many of our young people.

While the opportunity gap in America is deep-seated,

can our schools do a better job in closing the achievement gap?

How can they best serve all students?

Can the science of learning

help more children reach their potential?

Kids need to feel engaged

to really make optimal use of your educational opportunities,

and the neural data are giving us new insights

into the mechanics of that process.

Can new technologies provide more individualized instruction?

A child's education should be centered

around the way that that child can receive

the best education to help them grow.

I pledge allegiance to the flag...

How can we transform

our one-size-fits-all education model

to prepare students for an unpredictable future?

For the first time in our history,

we have an economy for which

the only thing that's certain is uncertainty and change.

And so what we have to prepare people for is adaptability.

Oh, so that's why!

Teachers, students, parents, and scientists

all across the country take center stage...

Everyone has a growth mindset.

...as they explore innovative approaches to education

and a new vision for the school of the future.

Wait, there's coordinates!

There's actually coordinates!

I know!

Yay, I can see now!

What does a child need to become a successful student?

Most experts agree that

developing certain skills early on is essential.

There are a set of skills that all children need

to be learners.

They need to be able to pay attention,

to concentrate, to focus for long periods of time.

But some conditions, including growing up in poverty,

can hinder the development of these skills.

Within low-income households comes risks around learning,

and we have a huge number of children

who are being exposed to stresses

that actually cause them to come into kindergarten

not ready for learning.

There are gaps that will persist over time.

At the University of Oregon's Brain Development Lab,

neuroscientist Eric Pakulak and his team

are looking for ways to help children overcome these gaps.

To do this, they study how our brains learn

to pay attention and focus from an early age.

When you're paying attention,

your brain is essentially turning up the volume

on what I'm saying

and also suppressing the distracting information

that's going on around you.

What's your name?

That's a very powerful skill for young children.

It's part of self-regulation, which involves your ability

to use your brain to control your body,

to focus attention, to suppress distracting information.

I need this one!

They studied preschool-age students

and found that the ability to focus

can closely align with socioeconomic status.

If you're growing up in an environment

that's very chaotic, that's not very predictable,

that in some cases could even potentially be dangerous,

it's actually to your benefit in that environment

to not suppress distracting information

to the same degree as other children.

Were you making a joke, Cleo?

And so what is potentially

a large benefit in that environment

could then not be such a benefit

when the child is moving into a school environment

where those abilities are very important.

What's gong on there?

To better understand how a child's experience