As younger generations prepare for our globalized and rapidly changing world, our systems of education must adapt to new styles of learning. Some educators have found the rise in tech to be a detriment to students' attention spans, with some fairly compelling evidence to back up their thoughts. Others, however, are harnessing technology to provide an interactive, engaging, and empowering experience for their classrooms.

"Digital natives will continue to voraciously adopt new media. Teachers have no choice but to evolve, not only to ensure students can access and take advantage of new technologies, but to fundamentally educate students to succeed in a world constantly trying to distract them."

The importance of leisure time has been discussed at length as society has become increasingly work-centric. However, as some studies have found, too much leisure time can have an adverse effect on one's happiness and satisfaction. 

What is the optimal amount of free time per day or per week? Does this require changes to the typical 9–5, 5-day week? See how some are talking about the optimal amount of leisure time and what that might mean for us as a society.

Using The Hamilton Project’s Vitality Index, based on their paper The Geography of Prosperity, the Brookings Institute has shared an interactive map of US counties highlighting the geographical influence on community prosperity. 

"Americans in many ways experience a different economy based on where they live, generating substantial gaps in life outcomes."

This fascinating tool, along with the Hamilton Project's analysis, paints an illuminating picture of the landscape of modern America.

From the fantastic blog Braining Pickings, here is a brief synopsis of Nietzche's thoughts on the importance of self-reflection, struggle, and what these things mean to us as we learn and grow as humans. Tying Nietzche's work with other thoughtful thinkers, writers, and artists, the piece zeros in on how true education involves lifelong reflection on what makes a person themselves, and how to cultivate change from within.

"Your true educators and cultivators will reveal to you the original sense and basic stuff of your being, something that is not ultimately amenable to education or cultivation by anyone else [except one's self], but that is always difficult to access, something bound and immobilized; your educators cannot go beyond being your liberators."

We highly recommend following Maria Popova's blog for weekly updates such as these.

Watch this quick video, published by Business Insider, about the future of work. As life expectancies rise, so will our collective ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to be able to work. What will this mean when more and more people are living to 100 years old, especially when they are as healthy as they might be at age 50? Hear about Ric Edelman's views on the new cyclical nature of education, work, and leisure.