The purpose of education is to cultivate citizens who feel empowered, compelled, and capable of making a positive difference in our world. To accomplish this goal, both schools and classrooms need to create and sustain an atmosphere that enables all students to discover and learn why things happen and how the world works. Students need to learn how to participate in and contribute to our communities. To create this type of atmosphere, teachers must respect children as people, create a sense of community and belonging, foster respect, tolerance, kindness, and understanding, and give students the confidence to succeed. Once we achieve this environment, teachers can begin the task of teaching the content. Teachers must believe that all students can learn and achieve at high levels and communicate this belief to the students.

 

When education is successful, the world gets bigger for students and they feel like an important part of a community. They see what is possible to achieve and the role that they can play in making it happen. They are able to imagine a better future and foresee a path to get us there. Their humanity has been stretched, allowing them to become a more human. They have the experience of being part of a community and the resilience they need to overcome the obstacles they will face over the course of their lifetime.

 

Community

 

The World Gets Bigger