Meet The SXSW Speakers: Derek Newton

Derek Newton is an education writer and contributor at Forbes. His education work has been featured in publications such as the Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic and others. He was previously a Vice-President at a New York think tank with a significant education portfolio and a speech writer for a former Governor of Florida.

We asked Derek to share some of his own joyful learning moments with us.

What’s a memory you have from school where learning was fun?
My example is probably late, by comparison. In High School I was fortunate to be able to be on a few competitive academic teams with very competitive quiz-show-type competitions. I was even more fortunate that my teachers – one in particular – was competitive in it and essentially let me use my class time to study for competitions. He made custom assignments and custom tests for me. Even though it was learning, it did not feel like learning because it was what I wanted to do anyway.

What’s your favorite part about STEAM?
What I like about STEAM is that for many areas – not all – there are multiple ways to get to the same place. Engineering or physics challenges for example. There’s no one right way to design a lunar rover. No single way to build a bridge. As long as you follow the core rules and what you do works, it’s right. I’ve always liked that.