Purusing this so called "Education Nation"

First of all, I think it is ambitious of NBC to set up a whole interactive learning plaza in Rockefeller Center, however, I think the only part that is interactive about it is that visitors will get to watch videos  by people who NBC deems "important" to the future of education in America.  So people are using their eyes and maybe their brains?  Maybe there is more to this interactive then the website details.

I decided to search through the other tabs on this website and came across the "Summit" page which detailed the 12 panels that will be of important discussion during Education Nation week:
The Panels

Ones that caught my attention were:

1.  The Innovation Gap

Bringing the technology revolution to the schoolhouse

Leaders in technology and innovative educators discuss new models and methods of instruction and the use of cutting-edge technology to advance student learning and help close the achievement gap among ethnic and income groups.

2. Kids Can't Vote

How can the politics of education put students first?

Policy leaders, elected officials and district administrators will focus on education governance structures and explore the benefits of and challenges posed by localization.

3. Educating the Digital Generation

What are the roles and responsibilities of media in learning?

Children from ages eight to eighteen spend an average of nearly 11 hours per day in front of a screen of some kind, including televisions, computers and mobile devices. Media executives will think about how we can encourage students to use the tools of the digital world in ways that are productive to their educational development.

4. Good Apples

How do we keep good teachers, throw out bad ones, and put a new shine on the profession?

Prominent voices discuss how American public schools can attract the best talent, evaluate teachers based on performance, nurture and support a rapidly changing teacher workforce, and pay and retain top talent in the profession.

5. A Fresh Start

Leveling the playing field before school begins

The Federal government invests five dollars in Americans over the age of 65 for every one dollar invested in children under the age of 5. Leaders in the field will shine a light on the ways early education makes a deep and lasting difference in our lives and communities.

6. Shrinking the Achievement Gap

Is education the civil rights issue of our time?

African-American and Latino students are years behind their White and Asian peers. Despite focus in recent years, the gap remains. During this discussion, panelists will analyze what’s impeding progress and how to finally start to address the problem.

7. Study Abroad

What can we learn from the global leaders in education?

As other countries have gained ground in educating their students, America’s public schools have stalled. We rank approximately 15th in Literacy, 24th in Math and 21st in Science behind Finland, Canada, South Korea, Ireland, Japan, Slovakia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic to name a few. We look to educators and policymakers from around the world to show us what we might be able to learn from effective strategies used by other countries.

That is quite a lot to ponder!  These panels will be posted on the website as well as on msnbc.com.  These are all quite interesting to me as an art educator and a student who is still learning about education and the politics behind the different forms of school structure.  I also hope that this focus from NBC does have some sort of effect on educational policy for the U.S., but they are just a TV network.  It will be interesting to see what the outcome of this week will be or if there will be no outcome at all.