What's Love Got to Do With It?

Can we talk freely about the most important purpose of education?

I have been on a roll with my new newsletter, creating an article every week. Last week, I fell silent.?Not because?I?had a lack of ideas about what to write -- I have plenty of ideas --?but because?I?want to write about something that most people don't talk about?when discussing?education or professional learning.?The topic is?Love.?As someone who is passionate about revamping education,?my secret desire has been for everyone?to know that they are loved?and that their love has value.

Since the?fateful day?in 1999?when I declared my desire to revamp education on the planet,?I have spent a lot of time thinking about the purpose of Education. If I were to take a poll, a common answer might be:?preparing children to be adults who benefit society. This is a good goal.?

If that is the goal (many would argue for more conniving purposes, such as to create compliant citizens who will consume goods and services for the benefit of a few) it has not,?however,?created?happy, healthy people or a planet that supports all forms of life as it has for millions of years.

Here is my?personal?declaration?of the purpose of Education: to promote Love. Love for self, love for each other, love for learning, love for failing, love for Life. Love for curiosity, connection, effort, creativity, diversity, peace, order...I hope you get the picture.

If anything does not result in these types of Love, then we need to keep improving curricula and delivery methods until they do.

Love is an emotion that evokes physical sensations that AI will never experience.

We humans are the guardians of Love on Earth, and we're not doing a good job of it. Just look at mental unwellness, stress, mass shootings, wars and devastation of Nature, including indigenous territories around the world.

Some of us are tiptoeing into Love territory with programs that develop Social Emotional Learning (SEL) or Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) skills. These are a start but I respectfully submit that it's time to act with more urgency to put Love front and centre onto the education agenda.

I wouldn't be so bold about?this call to action?if not for an experience I had?a dozen years ago. A young mother and her son?were living with me as they were?sorting out a transition in their lives.?

The boy had just enrolled?in?the local school?and his 6th birthday fell in the first week of September,?which was also the first week of school.?I suggested?that?we give him a birthday party and invite his classmates so that he could feel?more comfortable in his new surroundings.

As we were planning?food and games?for the party,?I had an idea?that was inspired by?studies?being conducted at the time on the?effect of positive and negative words?directed toward water, which resulted in different forms of frozen water crystals. I thought it would be fun?to?have an activity where the children could design different water bottles for themselves.

For efficiency, we would put words on the bottles beforehand, and they would choose their preferred bottles to add their own embellishments. What were the words? LOVE, PEACE, or FUN. I expected most boys to choose FUN so I made sure I had plenty of those ready.

To my surprise,?every boy?chose the word LOVE. Every rough and tumble?five and six year old boy there?chose love?before?fun or peace. Fortunately,?I also had plenty of LOVE bottles ready?so that no one was disappointed.

To this day,?I?never doubt the yearning of every person to be loved and give love that's readily received.

Next week: What does a Love curriculum include?

Please add your comments below. Do you think that Love belongs in education design? If so, how would that look for you? If not, please recommend your alternative. I want to hear from HR professionals, too ;-)