Blog series [1/4]: ‘From fear to curiosity'

This blog series was written in 2020 and builds on research for ‘The Festival of Learning Spaces’, exploring practical steps for inclusive environments upon schools restarting. The series considers our long term ambitions to support young people’s development, the impact of Covid and practical actions around adapting learning spaces. The research is a collaborative storytelling of insights from learners, parents and teachers, and creative possibilities shared by architects and designers.

School: The greatest years of your life? 

As adults, we are capable of acting autonomously. Through years of life experience, our skills assist in uncovering further self-development, building confidence, and using initiative.

Enabling empowerment

During adolescence, forming a stable identity across multiple situations is a crucial task. This can be accomplished through encouraged exploration of opportunities, promoting positive risk-taking and transforming fear into curiosity.

Secure attachment

Through each developmental stage and life event, we unconsciously aim to fulfil psychological ambitions: identity formation, empowerment, curiosity, and trust in our surroundings. Each entity offers overlapping traits, like stable mental health, secure relationships, open-mindedness, independence and responsibility. Identity development is a skill of experience, enabled by trust, built on relationships.

The setting of these experiences matters. School matters. Young people invest a huge proportion of their lives here developing and maturing cognitively, emotionally, socially and behaviourally.

A safety net

School is a setting for relationships, conflicts and collaborations. It can be both lonely and liberating. Despite positive and negative experiences, it shapes who we are.

Covid - a time of crisis – invites us to utilise coping skills. Through lockdown, many learners depend more on their parents or carers, and home environment. Some may experience separation anxiety when schools restart. So, learning environments must offer nurture and comfort to promote independence and self-worth.

Inclusive environments 

Schools must adapt to manage Covid risks, yet also engage learners to further their journey from fear into curiosity. Change spaces to build resilience and rebuild confidence: skills desperately needed amongst learners to overcome Covid’s obstacles, and through their futures.

Ask learners. Engage them. Be curious. Be creative. Build.