One of the foundational maxims of the International Baccalaureate is that children are far more capable of inspired thought and action than is traditionally assumed. Frankly, schools, public and private, are notorious for setting their expectations far below what their students can do given the right combination of time, space, and support.
It wasn't that long ago that children were viewed very differently. They mucked stalls, tilled fields, worked alongside their parents in all manner of crucial activity, even apprenticed in skilled trades. History also records their exploitation, especially in the Industrial Age. An unintended by-product of progressive efforts to remove children from the machinery of industrial capitalism and set them to schooling, a noble if not always well-executed outcome, is the diminution of children. Children are left out of whole ranges of developmentally appropriate activity, and denied challenging and meaningful opportunities to participate more fully in the lives of their families and communities. Instead, they are told to go play. This is perhaps most obvious in adolescence. We have no real place for our teens. Rather, they occupy a sort of limbo between later childhood and early adulthood, even as they pine for the opportunity to be taken seriously in their world.
Kids can do amazing things, of consequence, even inspire adults to action. Last week, for example, elementary students presented their lines of inquiry and accompanying actions at the Primary Years Program Exhibition. These students chose topics of real interest and importance, such as deforestation, food quality, pollution, etc. They didn't simply go on-line and research a topic. They had to actually go out in the world, look at their chosen problems up close and personal, and take measured and deliberate action.
One group, three precocious boys, was concerned about water pollution. In the course of their inquiry, they conducted a nitrate nitrogen test on one of our campus water fountains. Their results showed low water quality--safe to drink, but on the lower end of the scale. They brought this to our attention. We then conducted a range of water quality tests: nitrate nitrogen, total alkalinity, low range phosphate, wide range pH, and turbidity. While our results were not so dire, we still decided to take action. We also did comparative water quality testing to determine the efficacy of our filters. In the end, we reported our data to the boys, and our actions: to add appropriate filtration to all potable water sources. Their efforts, stemming from their own interests and learning, led to substantive change for all.
Theirs is not the only example of what kids can do when they put their minds to something. Kids are taking action all over campus. A group of MUS students are collecting, refurbishing and redistributing computers to needy programs. A group of elementary students planted endemic tree species on campus. Students regularly visit our administrators with great ideas, and their inspired thinking shapes our approaches and, in some cases, protocols and policies.
Our students are also out in their communities, making a difference. I had a chance to listen to early presentations of the eighth grade service projects earlier this week. These students are saving manatees and abused horses, tutoring in public schools, feeding the homeless, and working to preserve a local library. These are not the actions of children. These are the efforts of concerned citizens working to resolve real problems. These are mindful choices made by a committed group of young people intending different outcomes in their communities. Never underestimate the power of fully-invested souls to change the world, no matter how tall or old they be.