One of my favorite books is Essentialism, which encourages the reader to focus on what they do best and focus on doing those things rather than all of the many other things that we can do with our days. This doesn't always work out -- I'm not great at cleaning but I can't get away with just not doing it!
The book can be quickly and roughly summarized as "Do Less, But Better". I've been thinking a lot this summer about what we do best as an Ethical Education program. There are a few things that have come up for me, and these are the areas where I want to really focus in the upcoming year:
- Provide a space for kids to connect with each other and experience a community that is rooted not in belief, but in dedication to learning and growing.
- Encourage kids to consider how we impact others and the world (and help them make that impact positive!)
- Build critical thinking skills at all ages to prepare our kids to respond to challenges that they will inevitably face.
We'll structure this year to build in more space for iteration, with monthly topics rather than topics that span all year (less, but better). If you have any ideas or want to take a month to help teach, please reach out!
