Yearning for the Vast & Endless Sea

“If you want to build a ship,
don’t drum up the people to gather wood,
divide the work, and give orders.
Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and
endless sea.”

— Antoine De Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince)

After hours of climbing, the exhausted mountaineer spies the ridge… the waning light of the day ignites the snow covered cornices. She takes a deep breath, labored because of the altitude and keeps pushing. Images in her mind replay the injury and the labor to get back to training and ultimately, to the mountains.

Animated with a dream, that kid was on the court every day. He wasn’t the fastest. He didn’t have the best shot. His ball skills needed lots of work. But he believed, even when his friends invited him to hang; even when some around him discouraged him. So, in tonight’s game, when he starts for the first game of his college career, he knows that he made this happen.

In the mountains of Hawaii, before contact with the West, teams of indigenous engineers would explore the forest's deepest and most ancient reaches to find the tallest and straightest trees. The wisdom of elders would guide the craftspeople as they listened to the trees to ensure the wood was solid and strong, without rotten patches. Then the kahuna, or priests, would ask permission from the tree before its felling. Finally, the giant logs, sometimes over 100 feet long, would be dragged by hand to the shoreline where the canoes would take shape and come back to life.

This herculean feat of craftsmanship and thousands of person-hours of work was done purposefully. Not because it was an obligatory function. Not even for daily use - smaller, easier-to-carve logs were used for shoreline fishing canoes. This weighty endeavor was undertaken because the Hawaiian people yearned for the sea. The call of exploration, finding new lands, navigating back to ancestral homes, and connecting the vast Pacific drove those who labored on the canoes.

Deep inside each of us, desires and passions exist. They knock around our minds… bumping into fears and insecurities. But the deepest ones, the truest ones persist. They are nurtured by ourselves, sometimes supported by others. One of the things that I love is that the work of educators can be a powerful enabler of those desires and passions. Sometimes educators can catalyze; other times they can foster. How can we ask someone rather than dictate to them? How can we provide an opportunity rather than a mandate? And, as it relates to their learning, how do we meet them with a challenge that they can make good on, rather than a hoop they need to jump through? Inspiration is at the heart of the learning experience. Saint-Exupéry throws down the gauntlet quite simply- being conscious of motivations is essential. Inspiration isn’t about edutainment but rather tapping into that which is unique to and within each individual learner.  

We, at What School Could Be and 2Revolutions, in partnership with Spalding University, are so excited to welcome 50 educators into our Masters of Education in Learner-centered Practices program. As we launch this first cohort together, we navigate into uncharted learning areas: the archipelago of student-centered learning and atolls of competency-based education. We are excited to welcome this year's cohort of educational navigators as they yearn to imagine what school could be and catalyze learning revolutions on behalf of their students.

In-person kick-off in Hawaii, successfully launched learners

Additional learners from US, Canada, Qatar, Beijing and Hong Kong kick off concurrently virtually

Joyful learning helps you yearn

Kapono Ciotti, Executive Director, What Schools Could Be

Adam Rubin, Founder and Partner, 2Revolutions