What do you want to be when you grow up?

How BGA is helping to shape the future of education

We have touched on the subject that the current education system is antiquated, it is not working effectively nor is it keeping up with the times and needs of modern society. We have talked about the issues, the problems, the difficulties, but what are we going to do about it and how?

As mentioned we need a multitude of little steps to help us take big leaps forward – we need a shift in priority to put the learner’s needs first; with the creation of BGA we believe we have developed a vital step in the right direction.

We ask our young children the age old question “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, expecting a childish response of “astronaut” or “superhero”, but do we really ever actually listen to the answer? Do we ever really offer them the chance to realise their own dreams? If we send them to traditional schools they will be encouraged to fit into that proverbial box,

learn the same thing as the other 30+ kids next to them alongside a bucket load of expectation.

From this outdated learning model there is no encouragement of becoming what you want to be when you grow up, there is no recognition of individuality, there is no plan or forethought for their personal future. Our children are being moulded into the same shapes as one another, but for what purpose? The world does not need thousands of young, potentially damaged adults churned off a conveyor belt; it needs skilled, motivated individuals who are prepared and excited to get out there and make a difference.

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are” – E. E. Cummings

At BGA our goal is to give our learners the capacity to discover who and what they want to become, as well as the framework to enable them to work towards it. If it doesn’t fit, they
can choose to find a new path that works better for them. We want to help them learn how to learn, to flourish whilst recognising that we have to work to achieve our dreams. On the
way there we may encounter failure, and not to see this as a full stop but rather an opportunity. Failure is healthy, it is the pathway to success, it can be uplifting if we learn to see it in the right way.

“Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.” – Chinese proverb

As parents and the older generation we must actively partake in the vital role of shaping today’s children into the humans we wish them to become tomorrow. The development of
BGA as an education system releases these children from being held back by traditions and ranking systems and allows for relevance and progression.

BGA ultimately stands for discovering your true self, your passions, your goals and providing an environment from which to reach, achieve and develop them. It comes from a place of equality; every person in the world has the right to an education, they should also own the right to choose how that education is shaped.

The removal of the hierarchical set up that comes with traditional school means that learners are not pitted against their peers to ‘beat them’ or ‘do better’ than others; the equality of the classless situation at BGA means that learners are a community, a hub, of young people helping one another to reach their goals, side by side. We connect our learners with the community, with businesses, with society – to reach out to the world and find out where they want to go next. The onus at BGA does not fall on academics alone, this is one of three

pillars, the other two being equally as important; community and skills.

If “it takes a village to raise a child”, then what does it take to develop an adult? Certainly not a row of boxes for them to fit into.

One of our biggest assets as a race is our variety, individuality, and scope. Let’s embrace this gift of human diversity and allow it to be expressed by providing our young adults the opportunity to show us what they can do. How? Give them the platform from which to nurture, develop, and eventually spread their wings.

The time during secondary education is a poignant phase in a human life, it is a moment of rapid growth both mentally and physically, where we adapt, alter, shift, make big decisions and shape ourselves into young adults. A safe, nurturing environment that offers freedom, opportunity and equality, where our learners can prepare for the next phase is what BGA is all about.

Let’s not push them to fit in, let’s allow them to be BRAVE!