We are the witnesses to three alarming trends affecting the world of formal education. One is the rapid pace of technological and economic change, which is challenging us to redefine both how we transfer knowledge and how we measure success. Another is the increasing reliance on superficial measures of learning, which have demonstrably failed to produce the kind of complex thinking and awareness actually needed in careers and life. Finally, too many young people’s lives have fallen prey to forces of fragmentation, alienation, and anxiety.
How will school reach these students? By giving them what they want to learn. By building with them a welcoming environment. By providing the space for these young people to understand their identity, experience community, and gain meaningful knowledge about the world.
Young Spirit Foundation is a nonprofit organization designed to support schools that respond to the basic needs of wisdom and connection. The Foundation has a changemaking purpose: to provide a principle-based model which can be adapted to a variety of educational settings, across boundaries of economics, culture, ethnicity, and nationality.