"We must also intentionally redesign our schools and our systems of education to prepare every student to be an engaged and active citizen in our multilingual, multiracial democracy. We need our students to develop a sense of shared belonging and learn how to have civil disagreements, not just win arguments… This work is more important now than ever before. We must prepare students to solve our nation’s toughest problems, and our world’s."

This is a quote from the speech, Education for Civic Engagement, of Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE0Et9sxSNc

This quote from Secretary Cardona is very much substantial. It offers a potential vision that is clear on the social goals of modern education. Not focusing on rhetoric or persuasive embellishments, he directly addressed contemporary concerns. His point of goal is precise, and that is not just to produce good citizens but also to nurture citizens who can interact in a multilingual space with a multiracial democracy, even more so, ones that have the desirable ability to engage in civil disagreements. Even I myself am unintentionally targeted by this goal, for I personally idealize that winning an argument isn’t always a reasonable end and does not always matter, but what matters more is how we display willingness to partake in constructive disagreements that will eventually lead to a substantial meeting in the middle. It requires a lot of effort, especially for us, emotive beings, but it is surely crucial in contemporary times.

Furthermore, his call to "intentionally redesign" schools signals a proactive policy mandate, not just an inspirational hope. He linked the development of social agreement and civic skills to the ultimate goal of solving complex national and global problems, in which he powerfully argues that these social objectives are not only superficial to academic learning but are, in fact, central to education's relevance and mission in the 21st century.

Now, relating to the discussion on New Learning, I can say that learning and education at large, now, more than ever, have become so much appreciated as an overarching and powerful tool to change, not only in the mundane practical realms of life and society, but also in the even bigger systemic and political dimensions of society, which is actually what is called for by the contemporary developments and challenges. Education and learning have now become more and more idealized and materialized versions of the term in the saying “Education is the key to success”.