Our Children Don't Just Need Better Test Scores. They Need Hope.
If you've spent any time around young people lately, you've probably noticed something feels different.
Children are more anxious. Teenagers report feeling less optimistic about the future. Rates of depression and loneliness continue to rise. While social media often gets the blame, researchers suggest the problem runs much deeper. Today's young people are growing up in a world filled with uncertainty about their future, their communities, and even their place in society.
One recent article in American Educator highlights a startling statistic: young adults in the United States are now the least happy age group, reversing decades of research that traditionally found youth to be among the happiest stages of life. The author argues that restoring hope—not simply improving mental health services—must become one of education's central goals.
That idea resonated with us.
Because schools don't just prepare children for tests.
They shape how children see themselves and their future.
The article defines hope as more than optimism. Hope is believing that your future can be better and believing you have the ability to help make it so. Researchers describe hope as a combination of aspirations, agency, and pathways to reach meaningful goals.
Think about what many children experience during a typical school day.
They're told where to sit.
What to learn.
When to learn it.
How quickly they should finish.
How they'll be measured.
Success often becomes something that happens to children rather than something they actively build.
It's difficult to develop agency when most of your day is directed by someone else.
At The Children's Collective, we believe hope grows when children experience ownership.
When they have opportunities to ask meaningful questions.
When they contribute to their community.
When they solve real problems.
When they discover that their ideas matter.
Research highlighted in the article points to educational programs that intentionally develop creativity, adaptability, mentorship, career exploration, community partnerships, and social-emotional learning as powerful ways to restore hope. Across the country, schools that combine meaningful relationships with authentic, hands-on learning are helping young people see a future worth working toward.
Those aren't extras.
They're the foundation of how we designed our school.
Our long work cycles allow children to pursue meaningful investigations rather than rushing from subject to subject. Mixed-age communities encourage mentorship and belonging. Learning Stewards build relationships that help children recognize their strengths. Our Constellation Model asks children to explore questions of identity, community, justice, stewardship, and purpose alongside academic learning.
These experiences aren't just preparing children for college or careers.
They're helping children answer a much more important question:
Who am I, and how can I make a difference?
In a world where many young people feel uncertain about the future, perhaps one of education's greatest responsibilities is not simply to teach children what to know—but to help them believe they have the ability to shape what comes next.
Further Reading
Carol Graham, The Kids Are Not OK, But Education Innovations Provide Hope, American Educator (Spring 2025).
https://www.aft.org/ae/spring2025/graham