The World I Want to Live In

By: Corey Mohn

There was a study done years ago where people in the workforce were asked whether or not they consider themselves in a job, a career, or a calling. Only one in eight people in the workforce said I am in a place of calling right now.

The future that I want is where every single person – 100% – are in a place of calling. That’s the world I want to live in.

Now we know this is something that can work. This model works. It ramps up engagement, it allows people to find who they really are, to find their purpose, to find their passion. How can we stop until we get that to every kid?

It gives me so much hope for the future that by opening ourselves up, by allowing others to come and play in the sandbox with us, by leveraging all of that energy and all of that creativity between our students and our teachers and administrators and other thought leaders, that we absolutely can change the world.

The only real way to do it is from the ground up.

It’s finding those spark plugs, those champions willing to try this and take the risk. Once success is found, once students have an experience where they feel connected again to their education, then you start to see that a tipping point is near.

These young people have unbelievable energy. They have not lost their creativity. They have not ruled out possibilities for themselves. They have developed a skill set.

Every student, in their own way, making the world a better place. It becomes exponential when everyone is in the center of what they have been meant to do.

And when that all comes together, look out.

For more, see:

• Expanding Our Notion of Student Agency
• Rise: Voice of a New Generation
• Fueling a Vision of Student-Centered, Personalized Learning through Student Voice

Corey Mohn is Executive Director of the Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) and CAPS Network. Above is an excerpt from the feature-length film about the CAPS model and experiential learning, Where Students Lead.

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