What We Do:
At KER, we aim to create a movement of students and educators who reimagine education together. We believe that this movement will lead us to our vision, which is - 'All kids will unleash their potential for a reimagined world.’
KER is a platform for educators and students to explore and experiment with the 3 Principles and a set of 21st-century skills called the 8Cs (described below). This exploration is conducted through various in-person and virtual spaces, including curriculum and teacher training, webinars and online courses, retreats and musicals, programs and workshops, as well as the sharing of resources from our website and social media.
Our work is anchored in the learning and building of 3 Core Principles:
• Safe Space for Voice: We believe that a safe space is a place where kids can be who they are and say what they believe. Equally, it is a space where they practice listening to what others say without judgment and valuing others for who they uniquely are. Safe spaces can take the form of honest conversations, circles of dialogue and listening, and classrooms where mistakes are integral stepping stones to learning.
• Kids and Educators as Partners: We believe that partnership in education is where educators and students listen to and learn from each other. It shifts control and decision-making from being in the hands of the adult to sharing power and responsibility with students. It enables students to play a role at all levels of the education system in determining why education matters, what education should be and how it should be delivered. Partnership can take the form of peer-to-peer learning or mentoring, students actively involved in school governance, students speaking at educational conferences, and students advising the government on education policy.
• Kids as Changemakers: We believe that when kids identify a problem they care about and go through a process to find a solution, they grow in their learning and leadership in unprecedented ways. We have seen children of all ages and diverse backgrounds engage in community change, growing both as students and as citizens in the process.
Additionally, the 21st-century skills or 8Cs will ensure that our students and educators not just thrive but transform the 21st-century world: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Consciousness, Courage, Compassion and Curiosity.
All of this, along with the need to bring change through the approach of love, which we believe is working with our stakeholders by embodying leadership rooted in love, will help us reimagine education.
Why We Do It:
We exist because we believe that the purpose of education needs to change, as it is currently not setting up children for success. Over the years, we’ve seen that the quality of learning in schools remains low, graduation rates limit further life choices, adults often fail to listen to children, and holistic education is still a relatively new concept for many. More than 80% of our children lack access to 21st-century or life skills. The vast majority of our children will therefore grow up ill-prepared for a life of economic equality, personal fulfilment and broad contribution to the world.
Our children tell us that they want education to be different. They want an education that gives them freedom of choice and equality to work in partnership with their teachers, an education that cultivates compassion, trust and joy, an education that gives them a safe space to be their authentic selves and to raise their voice, and an education that is fun and gives them access and exposure to opportunities, arts, sports and more.
Thus, KER is a bold collective of students and educators who look into the mirror, knowing that we must reimagine education to help every child reach their full potential, creating a better life and world.
Our Hope:
KER will become a recognized global platform that works towards driving a reimagined education for all children. Through students in governance, right from classrooms to policy, impact of our programs and alumni movement, and the amplification of innovations and our pr, we will feel the ripples of change all around the world as the 3 Principles, 8Cs and approach of love become the new normal for education.
