October 9, 2023

It can sometimes feel like there is an unnecessary amount of fear-mongering in the education space. From students falling behind because of COVID-19 to uncertainty about the future, there seems to be a greater emphasis on what can go wrong instead of what can go right. Perhaps it is time for us to highlight all the good that is happening, and provide content and tools that can help our students to be more optimistic about their education and their future. 

Young people today are questioning their world, and clearly have a very different set of values and goals than some of the older generations.  This is a good thing. For instance, youth tell us that they want meaningful work. It suggests people are starting to think of success more in terms of time and work/life balance than materialism. They care about the environment, social justice, and about living a fulfilling life. They’re an admirable generation. 

One of the greatest opportunities we have as educators is to provide a vision for how we might support students to build a better world. We need new narratives on what’s possible so that we can evolve from our preconceived notions…