George Lucas – Putting Force to Educational Reform

George Lucas is an American independent film director, screenwriter, producer and Chairman of the American film production company Lucasfilm Ltd. George Lucas is most known for his creation of the universally celebrated epic space saga Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. Star Wars and its 5 sequels have generated a combined gross profit of $4.3 billion in worldwide box office; while toys and other merchandise have grossed $13.5 billion. Brought about by the enormous success of his movies, George Lucas has been ranked No.91 in “The 400 Richest Americans” by Forbes with a net worth of $4 billion.

Apart from his love for the entertainment industry, Lucas also possesses a big heart for philanthropy. In 2006, Lucas donated $175 million to the University of Southern California for the expansion of its film school. It was reported to be the largest single donation to the university and the biggest donation given to a film school.

Moreover, in his devotion to promote reform in the present educational system, Lucas created The George Lucas Educational Foundation. The foundation envisions a much-improved educational system wherein everybody has the power to change education for the better; where schools embrace innovation in the way that they have accepted conventional policies. The foundation presents its content under the brand Edutopia. Its resources include the Edutopia.org website that offers practical advice, essential classroom tips and tools, real-world examples, and active contributions from practitioners; Edutopia video, an effective tool that provides an all-embracing portfolio of documentaries; and Edutopia magazine, a publication that provides a continuous surge of novel ideas and stimulating success stories.

Edutopia also utilizes online communities through the Edutopia Poll, Sage Advice, and Spiral Notebook Blogs. The core concepts of the foundation consist of integrated studies, project learning, technology integration, teacher development, social and emotional learning, and assessment through multiple forms of assessment.