Education should prepare young people to navigate life, in all of its uncertainties, by developing a strong and honest sense of self awareness, by nurturing their ability to connect and collaborate with others, by fostering creativity and preparing them to take part in endeavours that are meaningful to them.  It should empower them to make decisions, based on an emerging sense of personal values and sense that they can assess with some degree of confidence, any situation at hand.

 

In order to develop self confidence, young people should be exposed to a broad range of subjects, arts, experiences and tasks, so that they do not emerge doubting what they know and can do.  They should know enough also to be humble, and to know their limits, but comfortable that even when they need "expert" guidance, they are well-prepared to choose that support carefully and to engage alongside them at depth.  Broad exposure should enable them to be able to connect with a wide range of people they might encounter, expanding possibilities.

 

Learners should feel capable and can do: able to tackle any hands-on activity, with a clear sense of limitations and an ability to assess realistically what's needed to accomplish a task, or a physical goal.  By  giving learners choice and agency, they will be able to build a sense of their own self-competence.

 

They should feel calmly confident to persist through longer processes and to dig deeply, knowing that they have the capacity to change outcomes.

 

Learners should feel empowered to make decisions with confidence, singly, or with others, and be able to reflect on their choices.

 

Learners should emerge with an understanding of how to navigate the most complicated and challenging aspects of relationships, and know that they need to take care of themselves, too, in order to cooperate effectively with others.

 

Given the uncertainty of the world in which we live, learners should be prepared to respond in times of disaster, from any source--to be prepared to live off grid and grow their own food, secure their own water and needed power, and to build relationships that will endure.

 

As educators, our job is to guide, to create opportunities for learners to thrive and to help learners to self-identify what will help them to thrive.  Like plants, learners sometimes need to be guided to the right amount of sunlight and water, and to the right nutrients for them, or to be able to source them (in-situ or not) --that happens best through deep connection and relationship with educators---which creates a safe and comfortable zone from which to explore.  Safety often comes from feeling heard.