Weekly Lecture Event: Agency and Education with Ian Rowe - Notes

Opening remarks by Jason Carroll, Director of the Family Initiative at the Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University.
Acknowledgments: - Zach Adamson for Prelude music (piano performance major at BYU). - Marlene Sinclair, Cassidy Weaver and the Wheatley Institute team for organizing the event. - Sarah Andrews, Communications Manager, for marketing efforts. - BYU community members (audio visual staff, building staff, etc.) for support. - Rich Osgoflor, Associate Academic Vice President. - Paul Edwards, Director of the Wheatley Institute.

Structure of the event: - Lecture followed by a reception with refreshments in the Lower Level Conference Room, Hinkley Center. - Upcoming Wheatley event on February 11, 2022: - Featuring journalist McKay Coppins discussing his biography "Romney, A Reckoning" on Mitt Romney's life and recent political events. - Q&A session following the discussion, book signing opportunity available.

Ian Rowe as the speaker: - Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (focus on education, upward mobility, family formation, adoption). - Founder and CEO of Vertex Partnership Academies (public charter high schools in The Bronx). - Senior Visiting Fellow at the Woodson Center and Senior Advisor for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism. - Former CEO of Public Prep, a nonprofit network of charter schools. - Prior leadership roles with Teach for America, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the White House, and MTV (two public service Emmys). - Education: high school diploma in electrical engineering from Brooklyn Technical High School; Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Engineering from Cornell University; MBA from Harvard Business School (first Black editor-in-chief of the school newspaper). - Author of "Agency: The Four Point Plan for All Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power".

Discussion on the topic of agency versus equity in American education.
National reckoning on race following George Floyd's death, focusing on the prosperity and potential of all students for America’s competitiveness.
Experience as a practitioner in education through leadership in charter schools in the South Bronx.
Observation of significant demand for better educational opportunities: - Public Prep educated over 2,000 underserved students (mainly low-income Black and Hispanic). - 200-300 open seats yearly but nearly 5,000 families on waitlist.

Statistics on educational outcomes: - 7% of ninth graders in District 12 graduated ready for college in 2015 (93% either dropped out or graduated unprepared).
Critiques of educational reform focused on closing achievement gaps: - Current discussions prioritize erasing disparities over educational excellence. - Color-bound thinking and equity defined by group outcomes lead to systemic underperformance. - Majority of white students also lack readiness for college. - 33% of fourth graders performed below NAEP basic reading levels in 2022, problems compounded by the pandemic and long-standing inequitable educational practices.

Agency: Empowering individuals through equality of opportunity, focusing on personal responsibility and moral development. Solutions promote differentiated support to enable individuals to pursue their potential.
Equity: Defined as absence of inequity. Focus is on group outcomes, often blaming discriminatory systems for disparities. - Critique of this view: oversimplifies complex issues and diminishes personal agency. - Example of lowered graduation standards in New Jersey to boost graduation rates while ignoring fundamental learning issues. - California's response to low math performance, focusing on identity politics in standards rather than genuine educational improvement.

Definition: "The force of your free will guided by moral discernment." - Conceptualized as a vector (velocity: speed and direction). Moral guidance is essential for exercising agency. - Emphasizes social empowerment alongside individual practice.
Presentation of the FREE Model: - Focus on four pillars: - Family: Essential for personal and moral development. - Religion: Encouraging a sense of purpose and belonging. - Education: Vital for personal success and social uplift. - Entrepreneurship: Encouraging economic self-sufficiency and problem-solving.

Overview: - Aimed to create virtuous graduates with a sense of agency and purpose, offering a broad curriculum. - Curriculum elements include: - Constitutional principles, mathematics, sciences, language skills (Spanish and Mandarin), history, art, music, theater, poetry, literature. - Teaching cardinal virtues: - Courage, Justice, Temperance, Wisdom: - Courage: "I reject victimhood and boldly persevere." - Justice: "I uphold our common humanity." - Temperance: "I lead my life with self-discipline." - Wisdom: "I make sound judgments based on objective truth."

Importance of cultivating virtues to foster self-governing individuals.
Vision to create opportunities: integration of teaching about personal agency within the broader curriculum.
Critical viewpoint against ideologies promoting a group identity over individual merit: - Encouraging personal responsibility over victimhood narratives.
Emphasis on embracing the potential of the country and individual contributions to society.

Summary of key principles: Agency over equity, dignity over dependency, resilience over reliance.
Encouragement for young people to recognize their potential for self-renewal and self-betterment based on core values and virtues.

Questions from the audience regarding curriculum and moral agency: - Discussion on how to address perceptions of indoctrination in moral education and the importance of imparting shared values. - Exploration of the success sequence (education, work, marriage, children) to teach life paths leading to success. - Suggestions on incorporating community education programs in the future for parents and locals.