The world is certainly in a state of flux at the moment, just as it has been at many different times in history. The news media is filled with geopolitical turmoil, non-stop speculation about the impact of AI, growing environmental concerns and poor mental health statistics. It’s enough to become very sceptical about the future. Yet in my line of work, it leads me to ponder: ‘How do schools prepare our students to face the world with hope and optimism rather than apathy and despair?’

Two things that come to mind: learning and action. I have a quote on my office wall, given to me by a former colleague from TH White’s 'The Once and Future King' (1958). It reads:  

“The best thing for being sad…is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then – to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you…”

I could not agree more with this when thinking about the perfect antidote to the sometimes-growing sentiment of pessimism. It has been noted that White was exploring how education and ‘learning to think’ are the only real defences against tyranny and mindless violence. There is something carthartic about the act of learning itself, regardless of the subject matter, that builds agency in our young people and helps them develop the skills they need to solve the problems they face.  

This learning, then, coupled with taking action, is a powerful combination to ensure against apathy. Alfred Lord Tennyson famously stated that "I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair.. Similarly, Dale Carnegie said, "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage."

The Kristin story is built on this very premise: a group of parents who were unhappy with the available schooling options took action to build something new and innovative. Learning “why the world wags and what wags it” is at the very heart of what we do here at Kristin. And then we add the magic International Baccalaureate (IB) ingredient and take action. Our students are explicitly taught to learn, think, create, reflect and then take action. This differs markedly from many other curricula, which, in today’s world, still focus on knowledge acquisition and regurgitation.  

While the problems our students are solving might not involve changing the world on a large scale, they do give them a blueprint for taking matters into their own hands and becoming active decision-makers rather than mere spectators in the world. I am incredibly heartened by the next generation of thinkers, innovators and leaders we are nurturing, and I genuinely believe we are in good hands.