In January 2020, I gave a TEDx talk titled ‘Grades don’t matter; wellbeing and life skills do.’ A few years have passed since this event, and in this time the pandemic ensued to greater extents than what we would have imagined; the world is watching two wars; the real rulers of the world are hidden from public sight, and the labelling of phases in the fiscal cycle are hushed; please, no one mention a recession.
“Look around, the world is messed up,” a 17-year-old student tells me.
We talk, and I find out more; the reasons behind his views don’t surprise me. He blames his work ethic and lack of motivation on the world around him. “What is there to work for? Politics, economics, they are all evil. Let me live on an island alone somewhere.”
Our conversation was long and somewhat meaningful, more so for me than, I was sure, for him. His opinions were set; TikTok, Instagram, news outlets, and Snapchat had provided him with the unfiltered and ‘real’ information; he was sure of his fixed views.
Perspective is what the conversation gave me. I had initially kept this student back at the end of class to talk about the lack of effort, consistency, and engagement in learning. I realised no grade mattered, no qualification carried any bearing; everything meant nothing to this young man because, for him, the sky was clouded, and the light wasn’t breaking through. I realised my conversation about making more effort and engaging in class was futile. There was nothing I could or should have said; the issue wasn’t his engagement in class, or lack thereof; the one simple sentence he spoke presented something far bigger.
Place and purpose.
Clearly, this student was unsure of his place in this world and the purpose he had in it.
I reflected and asked myself all sorts of questions, many of which I still cannot answer: where do Gen Z learners stand? What issues will they face? What do they need? What about the generation after that?
How is school supposed to help in all that?
Overlooked is the continuously increasing role and responsibility of the school, and absent is the strategy to cope, let alone deliver new required initiatives sustainably.
Reflecting on my TEDx talk, and the time that’s passed since, it’s evident that education must evolve sustainably with planning, management, and strategy. The pandemic, social unrest, and a rapidly changing world have not only highlighted the need for schools to become havens for mental health support, life skills, and personal growth, but endowed them with the responsibility. My conversation with this student is one example of what many are currently challenged by. It exemplifies a generation searching for meaning amidst chaos.
What if education wasn’t about memorising facts, but about understanding oneself and one’s place in the world? Imagine a system that nurtures not just the intellect, but the soul. Where mental health is as crucial as mathematics, and life skills are as fundamental as literacy. A place where students learn to navigate not only exams but the complexities of life.
We must ask ourselves: What do we truly value? How can we better prepare the next generation for the realities they face? Perhaps, in prioritising well-being and life skills, we can illuminate a path forward.
In the end, it’s not about grades, but growth. Not about scores, but self-awareness.
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