Welcome to Y’allywood! The state of Georgia has become a booming location for the entertainment industry. Building on its long history as a musical powerhouse, Georgia has become the undisputed “Hollywood of the South,” with film and television generating billions of dollars each year - an astounding $9.5 billion in 2018, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. The economic impact extends even further when considering the thousands of jobs that are created as a result of the Georgia entertainment industry. This is due, in part, to one of “the most competitive tax incentive programs in the country, along with a broad network of production and recording facilities, a large and skilled workforce, the latest production equipment and suppliers, gaming and interactive media developers, and technology and support services.”

This skilled workforce is being trained at schools across the state. While it is unusual for a K-12 school to have a recording studio, an increasing number of high schools and career centers in America are creating audio education programs to give students a head start on entertainment-centric college curricula and careers.

“...[I]f education is to succeed in its tasks, curriculum as its core should be restructured or repacked around the four pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.”

-Zhou Nanzhao, Ph.D., Director, International Center of Teacher Education, East-China Normal University, and Advisor to the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO

Globalization. A 24/7 news cycle. The growing influence of social media. Ever-changing technological advances. These are but a few of the challenges facing today’s teachers and their students. While the field of education may find it challenging to keep pace with the rapid changes in communication and technology, all is not lost in equipping 21st-Century learners for future success. In addition to providing a strong educational foundation - to include learning important facts, reading, writing, and arithmetic - it is crucial, according to the UNESCO International Commission on Education, that education today needs to teach students to be lifelong learners.