When we started Ascent, we were excited about disrupting education. We saw a system that hadn’t changed much. We saw school systems continuing down old paths, we saw “innovators” putting shiny coatings on the old system - still about the adults in the room - still about their ambitions but with a lot of money and shiny objects. Speed over depth, results-driven and shallow. We saw expensive private schools offering not much more than an antiquated system but with nicer buildings and connections guaranteeing Ivy League entry… and then what? What happens after a 12+ year model of education ‘does its job’ and gets a young person into college?
We saw opportunity for disruption everywhere - first in the opportunity to come back to and question the purpose of education with a responsibility that looks past ‘18’ and then to the critical importance of bringing into the world an understanding that children are whole humans who deserve respect and trust. Young people are so very capable but they find themselves in spaces where their capacity, their reasoning, their voice is doubted. And this isn’t a referendum on adults or educators - I don’t think most even realize they are doing it. It’s so normal that it’s really hard to see.
Our internal voice: Careful, this might get us canceled…
We were excited to disrupt - not with tech but with mindset.
That call to action is different, and it is so much more important. We didn’t anticipate the AI revolution when we started Ascent in 2019. And while we set out to build something that would prepare children for the future, we didn’t understand the gravity that what we were building was actually the most effective environment for children to prepare themselves for the world that will be.
“Kids these days..” every generation has their own version of this complaint. There’s a lot of talk right now about how to relate to work - is the right approach the get-to-work Gen X approach? The burn-the-midnight oil self-worth-entangled-with-outcomes approach of the millennial, or the next generation now looking at that and scoffing, and choosing what they want to do - people making money doing independent-contractor jobs at their own pace/time/desire… with boundaries.
But these aren’t the right conversations to be having because the older ways of doing things don’t hold with the coming seismic shifts already starting to occur. And the newest trend for sure won’t work. The “right” way is going to be some sort of combination of being purpose-driven in a really gritty way. The slow, give-me-space approach will not withstand AI, but the Gen X thinking won’t either since the labor economy will be upended.
Life is going to be a spirited search for meaning - what can we build, what can we create, where is my purpose? Our children are going to have to work incredibly hard; they’ll have to be in a state of perpetual searching - not in the “lost” sort of way but in the “ok what’s next now that that’s gone” sort of way.
And how do we prepare young people for this new worldview?
It starts early by building the foundations of self-knowledge and confidence in their abilities through practicing independence: Can I really do that? What am I curious about? What can I grow? How can I contribute?
Then it evolves into more autonomy along with a growing awareness of self in relation to others: What’s my place in the tribe? What are my values? How do my choices now affect me and others? What does my voice sound like? What am I passionate about? How do I overcome failure and setbacks? Can I do it?
Then back to self-knowledge but this time, with rigor to push limits and more depth of understanding: Who am I and who am I becoming? Who do I want to be? What does it mean to really work hard and commit? How do I discover my perceived limitations and go further next time?
And finally to the cycle that will get repeated over and over well beyond high school: a search for meaning and a grappling with purpose. What does it mean to live a life of meaning? What’s my next great adventure? What is my purpose? Who do I love and who loves me? What can I create? What’s next?
After years of doing the “reps” of building the muscle of self-knowledge and of finding limits and pushing past them, failing and trying again, these children will move into the world steadfast, knowing how to commit, how to change course, how to seek out their next adventure while staying true to their values.
