It’s a new year, an election year, and halfway through the school year. What better time to discuss the present—and future—of education in America? For January’s Humanities in the Village, we are glad to bring Dr. David Steiner of JHU’s Institute for Education Policy. Steiner will be discussing his new book, A Nation at Thought: Restoring Wisdom in America’s Schools, including some pressing questions of this moment:

• What are the causes of our current poor performance in American public schools?
• What should we put at the core of education for American Democratic well-being?
• How can we restore content to education that is at once rigorous and motivating for America’s 50 million public school children?

Come hear more about these issues and ask questions with Dr. Steiner and our co-moderators.

Meet at Bird in Hand Cafe in Charles Village (address below) on the final Monday in January to kick off 2024!

About the Author:

David Steiner is Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University. In 2020, he finished serving as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education and the Maryland Commission for Innovation and Excellence in Education. He currently serves on the board of the Relay Graduate School of Education. Most recently, he was appointed to the Practitioner Council at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. In 2009, Dr. Steiner was appointed Commissioner of Education for New York State, in 2005 as the Klara and Larry Silverstein Dean at the Hunter College School of Education, and in 2003 the Director of Education at the National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. Steiner consults regularly with the federal government, state education leaders, educational reform organizations, and universities. He has addressed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, and authored books, book chapters, and more than fifty articles. His most recent book “A Nation at Thought, Restoring Wisdom in America’s Schools” was published in 2023. He holds degrees from Balliol College, Oxford University (B.A. and M.A.), and Harvard University (Ph.D. in political science). Contact David at d.steiner@jhu.edu