Sir Robinson and Punahou: Despair and Hope for Youth Purpose
On the final day of the NAIS Conference, speakers addressed two sides of a crisis in education: youth purpose. Sir Ken Robinson blasted today’s schools for failing to feed and nurture children’s souls, while school leaders showed innovative programs that are succeeding in creating student citizens.
“If you create a system to do something, don’t be surprised if it does,” said Sir Ken Robinson. Like industrial farms that churn out mile after mile of perfect carrots, Robinson said today’s schools are built around principles of manufacturing to churn out a single type of standardized student — and the soul of the child gets crushed in the process. “Many students go through schools without finding out what they are good at,” said Robinson. “They lead lives that lack a sense of purpose or direction.”
An idea that I had not heard Robinson talk about before, which I found fascinating, was that we all live in two worlds. “The world outside, and the world inside that only exists because you exist — the world inside your skin, and between your heartbeats.” We have to help children explore and understand their inside world, Robinson said, because it’s through the inner world that a child can understand and connect with the outer world.
Robinson’s ideas were mirrored and put into action by two young school administrators who described K-12 global citizenship programs which foster youth purpose.
Chai Reddy, Director of Wo International Center at Punahou School, explained how Punahou helps students develop a sense of self, and an appreciation for local Hawai’i culture, before students attempt to connect with different cultural realities on the islands and beyond. “Let’s not learn about the other, until we learn about who we are and where we come from,” he said.
Sophie Halliday, Director of Studies at The St. Andrew’s Schools, an all-girls school network in Hawai’i, described how her school has created a system designed to help kids explore their talents and apply them to the world. After exploring and discovering their unique gifts or “spark,” each student builds a project around that spark, finds an outside organization to further develop that spark, and follows through on an action plan to bring that budding purpose to life.
As bleak as American education seems today with its relentless focus on standardized exams, it’s refreshing to also think about the hope underneath Robinson’s core message. If we build schools that are designed to foster youth purpose, let’s not be surprised by the amazing young leaders that are produced as a result.
