Rationale
There are many educators who are willing to make changes in their immediate educational settings, but they are constrained by many factors, for instance, the educational system that lacks incentive or resources to implement changes in the learning process. Sometimes, it is simply a lack of motivation or willingness to move forward! In such a setting, formal education turns into a confinement for teachers who complain of the educational system’s inability to provide the necessary resources and training for them to meet their students’ needs and expectations, which leaves students isolated from the constructive vision that educational innovation can offer.
The curiosity of the young minds cannot be subdued, since it is divergent! If young learners are not enabled to gain the necessary life skills through innovative and ethical guidance provided by skilled educators, they will accede to ‘alternative’ ways of gaining skills, often in directions that could jeopardise the development of the whole society.
Instead of constraining the vision for the young curious minds, we can involve them in promoting feasible innovations within their educational settings, by igniting that necessary spark of motivation, first among their peers, and then among their parents and educators. If young learners recognise an innovation as useful and feasible, and start implementing it, then everyone will listen, and everyone will follow.
Which is why I believe that the Youth for Change Initiative could reach a massive scale if implemented in a step-by-step process that would bring innovations home to the young learners, who are, after all, the ones to benefit from them.
So why not ask them directly: Which innovations would you like to have in your school?
Youth for Change Initiative's Goals:
1. Student Involvement - The main goal of this initiative is to introduce young learners at a local level with the latest global educational innovations, and encourage them to get involved in their further promotion and prospective implementation within their educational settings, in cooperation with their teachers and parents.
2. Bottom-Up Educational Development - The second goal would be to motivate educators/parents to take an active part in the educational development of their young learners/children, and to encourage them to take a personalised bottom-up approach in stimulating innovation within the formal educational systems of the country they live in.
3. Global Impact - The third goal would be to encourageother HundrED Ambassadors and members of theHundrED organisation to take similar initiatives withintheir communities of young learners, educators andparents, in order to promote the innovative educationalsolutions represented within this network on a much largerscale.
Scalability
Since this is an initiative that is inspired by HundrED’s mission to promote innovation in K12 education, other schools with similar scope, which have joined the HundrED community, could also be invited to join the initiative and organise similar events within their school environments.
In this way, we could initiate a wave of initiatives across the globe, where young learners will be engaged in promoting, or even implementing the innovations they find useful, and applicable in their schools.
If we want to bring sound changes to the future, we better engage the youth now! Since they are the future of this world, and we, as educators, are merely helping them reach it in a soundest possible way.
The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2017 was 'Youthquake'.
The noun, 'youthquake', is defined as a ‘significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people’.
With proper guidance in a sound educational setting, youth can become a powerful force in bringing a sound future to this world!
I believe that the Youth for Change Initiative is the right way to put this powerful noun into action!
The initiative's motto is:
Let’s Youthquake the World!
