Sometimes working in education feels like a shouting match about what skills kids should learn:
“Science, technology, engineering and math,” screams the governmental officials afraid of their tanking economy
“Don’t forget creativity and art,” yells the TED crowd
“We also need entrepreneurship,” rallies the Teach for America and charter school movement
“And let’s not forget organic gardening, meditation, and yoga,” mentions the enlightened educators
Like any industry, education is subject to trends and changes. Schools, educators, and young people adapt and integrate accordingly. But I’d like to argue that, despite the shift in context and environment, there is one life skill that is immutable: finding and living your purpose.
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the highest growth need of a human being is self-actualization: knowing and living one’s life purpose. If this is to be one of the highest goals of mankind since time immemorial, why does our education system completely ignore its importance?
People crave meaning: in their relationships and in their life’s work. But, in this pursuit, we are largely left to ourselves to contemplate and come up with our own meaning.
At Armada, we think differently. We believe our life’s purpose is the reason for our lifelong learning and education. As we learn and grow, we constantly reassess what our life’s purpose is, what are our long term goals for ourselves, and what habits do we need to build in ourselves to takes us there.
This is why our education model pairs deep self- discovery with knowledge and skills-based learning.
A good place to start is to write a personal mission statement. We love the book the 7 Habits of High Effective People by Stephen Covey and the 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey to help you and your family begin the process of living a purpose-driven life.
Keep finding your purpose,
Kassandra Lee
Education Unbounded 