1. What are the ingredients necessary for young adults to succeed?
When it comes to the big questions in education, what should the mission of schools be? What do we want our students to be able to accomplish as adults? How do we make success a reality for all children, regardless of socioeconomic status or other factors?
Focusing on making students college and career ready is important. Yet it falls short of our real aspirations for students: to become happy, confident adults with meaningful work, healthy relationships and an interest in their community. We want them to be able to meet the complex expectations and demands of adulthood. If these are our ambitions for our students, schools must focus on more than just helping students build strong academic skills.
The final, definitive version of this article has been published in School Administrator, 11(72), December 2015 by AASA. All rights reserved. © 2015