Of Schoolishness, Space and Emergence into vibrant systems: a joint podcast with Tim Logan of Future Learning Design
Jan 29, 2025
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Join Tim Logan, an innovative educator and co-leader of the International Baccalaureate's Festival of Hope, as he explores the urgent need for transformative changes in education. He discusses how to break down rigid systems to better connect young people with themselves and the world around them. The conversation touches on integrating systems thinking, fostering heart-centered connections, and reimagining educational experiences that prioritize sustainability and emotional literacy. Tim's insights aim to empower future generations amidst global challenges.
Education must evolve to prepare young people for future complexities, emphasizing personal connection and holistic development over traditional rote learning.
Amid rising mental health concerns, schools need to integrate well-being initiatives into curricula to support students grappling with eco-anxiety and uncertainty.
The Festival of Hope initiative illustrates the importance of community engagement, empowering youth to co-create solutions while fostering a sense of belonging and global awareness.
Deep dives
The Importance of Nurturing Future Generations
The discussion emphasizes the urgent need to prepare younger generations for the complexities of the future. It highlights the pivotal role that education plays in shaping individuals who will become the elders for future societies. Educators must focus on developing skills and values that resonate with the challenges facing the world. The goal is to empower young people to grow into responsible adults who can contribute positively to their communities and the planet.
Transformational Shifts in Education
Transformational changes within educational systems are currently underway worldwide, emphasizing the need for innovative learning experiences. The podcast illustrates this through examples from various schools and education systems that prioritize systems thinking over traditional rote learning. By creating environments that encourage exploration and personal connection, teachers can foster a deeper understanding of complex concepts. These shifts aim to move away from mere optimization and towards a more holistic educational approach.
Addressing Mental Health and Eco-Anxiety in Students
The conversation highlights a growing mental health crisis among students, exacerbated by socio-political factors and academic pressures. Many young people today are grappling with eco-anxiety and uncertainty about their future, leading to feelings of disconnection from their learning experiences. Schools must recognize and address these emotional challenges by incorporating well-being initiatives into their curricula. This creates a supportive environment where students can express their concerns and develop healthy coping mechanisms.
The Festival of Hope: A Community Initiative
The Festival of Hope is introduced as a significant initiative aimed at fostering community among young people passionate about making a difference. This event encourages participants to explore pressing issues, share their experiences, and envision positive change. By co-creating these spaces with students, the festival promotes agency and empowerment, connecting them to a larger global context. The ongoing engagement and feedback from participants illustrate the festival's impact, fostering a sense of belonging and hopeful collaboration.
Building Bridges Toward Systemic Change
The podcast discusses the necessity for systemic change within educational frameworks to create more inclusive and nurturing environments. This requires overcoming ingrained optimization approaches that prioritize efficiency over true learning. Initiatives must embrace emergence and connectivity, enabling students to engage with their surroundings meaningfully. Through collaboration and innovative practices, educators can help dismantle barriers and cultivate a culture of exploration and adaptability essential for future generations.
If what our culture most urgently needs is for a critical mass of us to grow into adults and then elders, how can we help our young people to step beyond the artificial boundaries of our old, rigid system into a world where they are fully connected to all parts of themselves, each other and the web of life. How, in effect, can we create an educational system that is fit for purpose in the emerging century?
In this podcast, I joined with Tim Logan, host of the Future Learning Design podcast, educator, part of the team at Good Impact Labs and co-leader of the International Baccalaureate's 'Festival of Hope'. Tim is a highly experienced school leader, management consultant, coach, educator and researcher, has held previous pedagogical and well-being senior leadership positions in a variety of international settings and is proud to have consistently helped to build innovative, outstanding schools, supportive relationships and powerful educational visions. He says, 'The important question for now is, can we intentionally create more spaces in our schools that provide a qualitatively different kind of 'educational' experience? Transformational shifts are happening in educational and organisational cultures around the world right now. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to play a role in this.'
I was on the Future Learning Design podcast just before the dark nights of winter with Ginie Servant-Miklos, Raïsa Mirza and Will Richardson and his podcast has become one of my essential listens of the week and had been planning to invite Tim here to talk about the transformational shifts happening in education and how they can help us lay the foundations for a world we'd be proud to leave behind. We were planning something for later in the year but we had a cancellation and he had a tech misfire and we both needed something fast to get the schedules back on track, so here we are with a joint conversation—one of those that ranges wide over the landscape of culture and learning and the 'citadel mind' and our history of optimising for everything and how we could, instead, begin to expand into a more porous mindset and look for resonance and help young people to become part of the emerging transformation of the entire web of life.