“We create caring, nurturing adults, prepared to be productive citizens in a democratic society.”
I’m sure you’ve all seen that proclamation, there or thereabouts, as part of the mission statement of just about every school you’ve ever visited. It’s a common declaration. And meaningless if it isn’t followed.
How do we avoid turning it into a empty bunch of words? Just how do we create caring, nurturing, productive citizens?
People who will change the world in which we live
At Six Seconds, we want to create change makers. And, in order to develop people who will challenge the status quo, implement plans for positive improvement, with the skills to build organizations and communities to see those plans through, we believe that:
- Skills in communicating, thinking, decision-making and problem-solving are as important as reading, writing and computational abilities.
- Students must believe in themselves and their potential, develop compassion and understanding for others, as well as self-respect and respect for others. And that,
- Parents of school-age children should be knowledgeable about curriculum, active in parent-teaching activities, and supportive of the values of the school.
To this end, we place an emphasis on do’s in our organization rather than don’ts:
- Do cooperate with your peers in a learning situation.
- Do care about your friends’ feelings.
- Do take responsibility for your own feelings and actions.
- Do participate with your teacher in creating a productive classroom environment.
- Do respect others’ rights and property.
- Do be accountable for helping to maintain our position as an organization that teaches respect and responsibility.
There are only three don’ts in our organization:
- Don’t give killer statements to yourself or others (That is dumb; I can’t draw; I hate you)
- Don’t do damage to personal or other property (writing on walls, stealing other’s property.)
- Don’t participate in acts of physical violence (hitting, kicking, poking.)
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the whole world organized itself along these lines? I would love to be in charge.
But failing that, we create our own world at Six Seconds that runs on these principles. Everything we do has these values at its core. And we, ourselves, can spread these messages by applying them everywhere as we go about our days.
I invite you to join me in creating change makers. And to be a change maker yourself. Start with you. Start right there. Together we can change the future.
How will you apply these principles today? What can you do differently? What change can you make? Make my day and tell me in the comments!
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