We have debated for some time now about what we should be teaching our children and how exactly we should be teaching them. The what and the how of education will probably continue to be hot topics for many years to come. But what we are missing, what so many of us are overlooking at this time, is the growing importance of knowledge and innovation in our global economy. The Edvocate was created in 2014 to argue for shifts in education policy and organization in order to enhance the quality of education and the opportunities for learning afforded to America’s students. What we envisage may not be the most straightforward or the most conventional ideas. We call for a relatively radical and certainly quite comprehensive reorganization of America’s P-20 system.

People rage about how America brings foreigners – foreign scientists, academics, and the like – into the country to share ideas and to apply their resources. No doubt, we will also continue to hear complaints about outsourcing operations overseas, companies calling on the resources of other countries to achieve their ends in business. The bigger picture, though, is that America’s workforce currently lacks the necessary knowledge commodities and innovation commodities to be at its most effective. And the problem is only going to get worse. A significant context for The Edvocate in fact, and for any effort to revive and redesign the P-20 education system, is the shift and change in the way we do business, the growing emphasis on knowledge and innovation, and the general transition to a knowledge economy.

In this transitory process, the United States is already lagging well behind the other international powers. Although education is not the only theater in this quiet war for knowledge supremacy, it is one of the most significant, at this time, and one in which, with a little effort, American can quite easily reassert itself. That reassertion, though, and the underlying effort, will have much to do with reviving the American education system, reviving a national love and appreciation of learning. It will involve rekindling the nation’s mind to recognize that the potential of education is not to teach to tests or to make students fit into neat little boxes. It will depend, in our opinion, on the national revival of education as we know it. The Edvocate plans to be one of key architects of this revival, as it continues to advocate for education reform, equity, and innovation.

I hope that you will join us in this discussion of the past, present and future of education and lend your own insight to the issues that are discussed.

We Don’t Mean to Brag

Below you will find a sampling of the awards and accolades that have been garnered by The Edvocate and its staff:

Our editor, Matthew Lynch, was named by Engati as one of the 40 Top EdTech leaders transforming education and learning experiences.

Teachthought lists The Edvocate as one of the top 52 blogs in education.

Mompreneur lists the Edvocate as the 10th Best Education Blog.

Twinkl,  placed The Edvocate on its Best Education Blogs 2022 list.

Our editor, Matthew Lynch, made Engati’s list of 222 TOP influencers you need to follow for 2022. The introduction to this list states, “These influencers have excelled in their fields and have been an inspiration to all of us. Their experience and insights are unbeatable! These 222 influencers can rightly be called “Influencer of the year 2021!”

Edtech Magazine included our Editor, Matthew Lynch, on its annual list of 30 K–12 IT Influencers Worth a Follow in 2020.

Detailed.com lists The Edvocate as the 10th best education blog in the world for 2020.

Mimio Educator, an influential edtech blog, named our editor, Matthew Lynch, the #1 edtech influencer in the world for 2019.

PowerUp What Works ranks our @lynch39083 Twitter account as #1 on their 2018 list of “Our Favorite Twitter Accounts for Teachers.”

In July 2018, The Edvocate launched Edupedia, the world’s first digital encyclopedia of education.

Agilience ranks our editor, Matthew Lynch, as the #1 authority in education, the #1 authority in learning materials and pedagogy and the #9 authority on teachers.

Disruptor Daily has named our editor, Matthew Lynch, as one of the 25 edtech influencers to follow on Twitter in 2018.

Our Editor in Chief, Matthew Lynch was named to the TrustED 20 (November 2017), an annual list of 20 education thought leaders who are driving the online conversation about K12 change and innovation.

Our editor, Matthew Lynch, was recently named one of the three edtech voices to follow by Forbes.

Time to Know, a global edtech company, named our editor Matthew Lynch as one of the “Top 10 Digital Learning Thought Leaders to Follow Right Now.”

In July 2017, Getting Smart named our @AdvocateforEd account as one of the best Twitters feeds to follow for EdTech News & Media. It also named our editor Matthew Lynch as one of the education thought leaders to follow on Twitter.

The Edvocate has been featured on the Teachers of Tomorrow’s 2017 List of the Top 50 Teacher Websites for Seriously Dedicated Educators.

Onalytica ranked The Edvocate #49 on its annual list of the “Top 200 Brands in Edtech and Elearning (2016)”.

Onalytica ranked our founder and Editor in Chief, Matthew Lynch, on its annual list of the “Top 200 Influencers in Edtech and Elearning (2016)”. He came in at #38, up 51 spots from 2015.

Our Editor in Chief, Matthew Lynch was named to the TrustED 20 (November 2016), an inaugural list of 20 education thought leaders who are driving the online conversation about K12 change and innovation.

Iris Connect, an influential edtech company, included The Edvocate on their list of “20 of the best “EdTech accounts to follow on Twitter” (2016). The list was in no particular order, so we assume that we were number one!

Onalytica ranked our founder and Editor in Chief, Matthew Lynch, on its annual list of the “Top 100 Influencers in Edtech and Elearning (2015)”. He came in at #88. We demand a recount! Honestly, we are honored. He expects to be in the “Top 25” next year! Want to view the rankings?

Hanover Research named our founder and Editor in Chief, Matthew Lynch, as one of the “K-12 Influencers to Follow (2015)”.

The Edvocate’s Twitter account (@advocatefored) has been named the #1 Twitter account for Edtech News & Media (2015) by Getting Smart.