The Sh*t Show: beyond the gates, community engagement in education

Send us Fan MailEducation is a force for good that lifts societies out of poverty, yet education systems are failing around the world, especially in wealthy, democratic countries. One area showing real impact - not just on students, but on the communities schools serve - is effective community engagement programs. These programs succeed not only because of what students are doing - charity, social justice, service, or community engagement - but when they inspire students to become lifelong champions of social justice and community engagement. What does a successful model look like? How does it work in action? What difference is it making? How could our global education system benefit from this approach? You'll learn this and a whole lot more.After that, it’s time for the news, and there’s a lot going on as usual. The US has seen a legitimate “Blue Wave” across the country which has created a media feeding frenzy, the same region in the Philippines devastated by an earthquake recently has now been flattened by Typhoon Kalmaegi, with a new Super Typhoon brewing behind it. Right now Vietnam is in the typhoon’s path after it intensified again, and Thailand is expecting torrential rainfall over the weekend from the storm too. Beyond extreme weather events, we had a walk-out from Miss Universe over disrespectful comments, the saga of the British Royals continues, and we’ll know by Friday if Elon Musk gets his $1 trillion pay package. There’s a lot more going on, but that’s a flavour from the week so far.    Our education champion is Heidi Oxley-Whitnell, who is all about enabling students - through experiential learning and community engagement - to make a difference. Heidi has been the CAS (creativity, activity, service) and Experiential Learning Coordinator at UWC Thailand for nearly 10 years and is a regular award winner for her work. Loved by students and the whole community in Phuket, Heidi is a passionate force for good in a world that needs such role models. Heidi is part of CASConnected, which aims to supports CAS coordinators globally through professional development and mentorship, helping educators design programmes that move beyond checklists to building authentic and sustainable relationships with their communities.We are all looking forward to speaking with Heidi, so do join us, and get caught up on the news while you’re at it, this Friday 7th November 2025, 7am UK, 8am EU, 2pm TH, 3pm SG, 6pm AEST. Streaming across various locations, and no doubt about it, we’d love your support. The Sh*t Show is a Livestream happening every Friday, where Andrea T Edwards, Dr. David Ko, Richard Busellato and Joe Augustin, as well as special guests, discuss the world’s most pressing issues across all angles of the polycrisis, working to make sense of the extremely challenging and complex times we are all going through, plus what we can do about it. Help us move the needle so we can change the name of the show to something more genteel when (or if) it is no longer a sh*t show. #TheShitShow #UncommonCourageYou can find me Andrea T Edwards | The Digital Conversationalist and Welcome - Uncommon Courage - An Invitation. My book Uncommon Courage, an invitation, is here https://mybook.to/UncommonCourage My book 18 Steps to an All-Star LinkedIn Profile, is here https://mybook.to/18stepstoanallstar