Bring education back to everyday life

To Ya Zhou, if the goal of education is to help us live better, then today's education system is falling short—it doesn’t help us recognize the crises we're facing, nor does it prepare us to meet them head-on.

Mainstream education puts too much emphasis on cognitive learning and not enough on emotional awareness, community connection, or environmental consciousness. That’s why she wants to bring education back into everyday life. And recently, she found an unexpected entry point through something everyone knows: dumplings. Ya Zhou teaches at Guangdong Technical Normal University and holds a Master's degree in Transition Economics from Schumacher College in the UK. She works across disciplines as a multi-arts educator and collaborates on building sustainable urban lifestyles. Her background includes studies in Transition Towns, Permaculture Design, nature-based emotional learning, applied theatre, and gender and development. In Guangzhou, she's been involved in projects such as "Food for Families", "Exploring Sustainable Living through Food", "Seeds of Story", and the "Springfield Project".