Why the Surgeon General’s Call to ‘Choose Community’ Matters for Schools

In today’s climate of frequent (and overwhelming) political announcements and transitions, it’s easy to overlook the inspiring insights that emerge from a life dedicated to service. The U.S. Surgeon General’s “Parting Prescription for America” is one such work that deserves our attention. Although not explicitly written as an education policy document, its implications for education are undeniable.

What is this parting prescription? “Choose Community” (page 25).

I found this surprising, as “the Surgeon General provides Americans with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce their risk of illness and injury”  (U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services). “Choose community” seems far removed from such a mission.

However, as Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy explains, it’s deeply connected. Choosing community is not only a path to personal fulfillment, but also a key to improving the health of individuals and society. 

And, on a closer read, it is also a clarion call for what is needed in education. It challenges the growing emphasis on hyper-individualized learning—where each student follows their own personalized path, often with the help of AI-driven tutors. After all, isn’t a hyper individualized educational experience simply preparing students for a hyper individualized lifestyle? And isn’t that exactly what the Surgeon General is warning us against? 

Dr. Murthy highlights that “Technology, despite all its benefits, has trapped many of us in digital silos with less face-to-face contact. The idea of approaching someone you don’t know to strike up a conversation, calling a friend to say hello, or opening up about your struggles feels increasingly uncomfortable” (page 11). 

The parallels to education are obvious: If we isolate students in their own educational silos, where they work individually on customized materials, we risk depriving them of opportunities to collaborate, admit when they don’t know something, and learn the power of collective problem-solving. Without these experiences, students will not realize that they are smarter, stronger, and more resilient when they work together than when they work alone. 

Going further, he states that “With every conversation, I saw the stakes more clearly: the fracturing of community in America is driving a deeper spiritual crisis that threatens our fundamental well-being. It is fueling not only illness and despair on an individual level, but also pessimism and distrust across society which have all made it painfully difficult to rise together in response to common challenges” (page 12).  

The implications for classrooms are striking. In a setting where each student follows a separate learning path, students are likely to perceive their own classroom as fractured. They may view their peers as irrelevant to their own learning—or worse, as distrustful competitors in a gamified system where some are “ahead” and others “behind.” How, then, will they learn the essential skill of working together to tackle society’s most pressing challenges?

How do we go beyond fractured and siloed communities? Dr. Murthy identifies “Three core elements: relationships, service, and purpose. And one core virtue: love. Together, they create the ecosystem of meaning and belonging that are essential for fulfillment” (page 13). 

This insight has powerful applications for education: we need to foster relationships, understand that learning is in service of solving common problems, and help students find purpose in their work. Learning should not only be about absorbing knowledge from an individualized AI tutor. Instead, it must take place in collaborative spaces where students create knowledge and use it to solve meaningful problems within their communities.

And “love”? “Love not as sentimentality, but as a commanding force with the power to build, strengthen, and heal. Love as generosity and kindness. Love as hope and grace. Love as courage” (page 18).  Our classrooms should embody these qualities. They should be places of generosity, kindness, and courage, where students work together to solve problems that matter to them, extending grace to themselves and each other as they learn and grow.

This is a large ask. As Dr. Murthy says “It won’t always be easy. It will require rethinking and, in some cases, rejecting the conventional wisdom” (page 26). This post is not the place to fully outline that rethinking. Instead, it is an invitation to reflect: How true do the Surgeon General’s words feel to you? And how can you contribute to an educational system that chooses community?