October 31st, 2017
Highlights from the Changemakers Parents session at Vista Hills | October 26, 2017
After going around the circle and introducing ourselves, we spent the evening exploring a series of questions and sharing in small and large groups. In smaller groups of 4, participants were asked to think of and briefly share a childhood memory.
As a large group, the first question we reflected on was this: “What do we want for our kids?”
Followed by: “What do we really want for our kids?”
Followed by: “What do we really, really want for our kids?”
Next we watched a short video that captures some of the way the pace of change and the increasing uncertainty of the future is changing the way we think, live, and teach. The video was produced by the Smithsonian and is aimed at teachers, but participants were encouraged to think of ‘classroom’ as a metaphor for any setting where we might be exchanging learning with young people. Here is the video: https://youtu.be/
After quickly reflecting on some of the kinds of changes participants have noticed in their lives (family, career, community, world, etc.) participants were invited to discuss in small groups a way that change has affected them.
We shifted gears away from the negative impacts of change toward imagining the world we want to live in: a world where solutions outrun problems. How can we support our kids in helping them, and future generations, move humanity closer to this possible future, given that it is unlikely we will see that future realized in our lifetimes?
Ashoka’s vision and mission were introduced (“Everyone a Changemaker”), with a focus on the way some entrepreneurs (social entrepreneurs) have positive social impact as part of their bottom line. Our research has shown that these changemakers have highly developed senses of empathy that permeate all of what they do. Where, then, is the opportunity to cultivate empathic environments for young people and how might this support them in seeing themselves as agents of change, both now and in the future? It’s not about everyone being a social entrepreneur, but very much about every person seeing that they have the will and the skill to have a positive social impact in whatever paths they choose.
We skipped this video (in the interest of time) focused on an Ashoka Fellow who has developed a system for finding land mines, but I’m sharing it here for those who are curious: http://www.cnn.com/
It was followed by this powerful video about a recent University of Waterloo grad who took the detection and defusing of land mines one step further – a great example of young person who, from early childhood, was driven to solve a complex social problem: https://youtu.be/
What opportunities are we creating for our children to see themselves as agents for change? What are the optimal conditions for kids to see themselves in this way?
Participants were then asked to reflect on a moment in their own life when they realized they had the capacity to create change – on whatever scale (in our families, communities, personal/inner life, professionally, globally, etc.). We didn’t have time, but a subsequent prompt would have been: and how did it feel remember that particular occasion? And: is that a feeling we wish for our kids?
Lastly, participants were invited to reflect on this question: What opportunities can you create with your family where your children can discover their own inner capacity to create change? Everyone was invited to choose a way to take personal action toward realizing at least one of their ideas in the next week. Additionally, the Vista Hills community was encouraged to reflect on how the HERO GEM character traits are synergistic and/or work in tandem with building a community of changemakers. Do the HERO GEM traits, in action, lead us toward a generation and community of changemakers? What might that look like in practice?