RESET with John Legend
RESET Education is a conversation-starter.
A set of strategies championed by The Minneapolis Foundation, which many believe could transform education, RESET is hosting a series of Minnesota Meetings to get community members talking — discussing education, what it means to have equal access, and looking at how education is or isn’t serving young people.
John Legend, a 9-time Grammy-award-winning R&B artist and deep advocate for education, shared his vision of education with an audience May 22 at The Fitzgerald Theater, bringing musical fans, educators, and community members together through a shared concern for the future of education.
He shared about his experience growing up, and the places and people that influenced him: at his church, where he learned we should love one another; at his library, where he learned about great leaders; and from his parents, who were examples of the power of giving back to the community.
Legend, who now works with several organizations in a philanthropic capacity, credits these influences with his deep desire to use musical success to give back. He believes education is the best way to effect change; that quality education for every child is the best way to break the cycle of poverty.
“Good education remains a gift for some when it should be a right for all,” Legend said. He lamented the existence of ‘drop-out factories,’ noting that about 10% of America’s high schools produce nearly half of our drop-outs. For Legend, this is educational inequality: when a student’s birthplace and parents’ income determines the quality of education and access to that education.
Legend also went through the different pieces of the RESET strategy, and encouraged attendants to not only talk about their educational convictions, but act — by joining a local or national educational organization’s board, by volunteering time as a tutor, and by voting.
While he ended the evening with a Q&A and a beautiful 30-minute set of his music, Legend’s conviction was the driving force behind the evening’s energy. “I know we can do better,” he said.
Read the RESET Education recap of this event. >>
Learn more about John Legend’s commitment to education. >>