Putting students (or Explorers, as we call them) front and centre in their learning journey has contributed greatly towards the success of the Boundless Life Education programme so far but we are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to empower them. As such, our latest cohort saw the introduction of two new initiatives across all our locations. 

Student-Led Parent/Educator Conferences 

Boundless Education hosts three Parent/Educator conferences during our 3-month cohorts to enable parents to gain much greater insight into their child’s progress and goals. The mid-cohort conference is ‘student-led’, but why is this important?

Gone are the days when all you would get from your child’s educator are report cards. Student-led conferences have been used for many years and, with student portfolios, are becoming more valuable and increasingly accepted for university entrance. 

“These conferences form an important part of student development. They allow families to grow with their children and become more involved in their child’s education”, explained Suzanne Perkowsky, Head of Academics at Boundless Life.

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 The benefits of this approach are: 

• Student-led conferences facilitate the sharing of learning between kids and their parent(s), led by the child and supported by educators. The key is to share learnings and processes and not necessarily ‘perfectly’ completed work.

• From an educator’s perspective, student-led conferences allow for kids to honestly reflect on their learning and on ways to better tackle their challenges. In the process of choosing work to share, educators and students have the opportunity to have informal developmental discussions. It also opens up the lines of communication between families and educators to have productive and positive discussions about identified learning challenges.

• Perhaps the greatest value that student-led conferences bring, through the focused interaction, is that they give students a stronger voice in their learning. This engenders increased confidence and builds a greater sense of pride when celebrating successes. Conversely, open dialogue about areas of development helps students feel empowered to tackle these collaboratively. The opportunity to speak up and have a family’s undivided attention builds stronger bonds and gives families a platform to better support their child’s learning.

‍Boundless Junior Forum 

The second new initiative, the Boundless Junior Forum, has already proved to be extremely popular with our Explorers - which is a testament to their growth mindsets and positive attitudes towards the democratic process and their empowerment within this. 

Our Explorers regularly hold and lead a ‘Junior Forum’ throughout our cohorts. This is a “safe space” where students and educators collaboratively manage everything that concerns the Education Centre community. This might include events planning, idea generation, interpersonal and practical issue resolution but could - in reality - be any topic the Explorers wish to table for discussion. 

The forum helps not only to empower our Explorers to find and use their voices for immediate collective benefit but also to engender a sense of civic responsibility that will benefit them as they grow to be the global citizens and leaders of tomorrow. 

The roles of ‘Secretary’ and ‘President’ are rotated to ensure as many Explorers as possible have the opportunity to lead the forum. This involves - as you might expect - a review of previous minutes and actions and a new agenda of topics for discussion. 

The introduction of the Boundless Junior Forum was brought about by Joana Barbosa Fernandes - Boundless’ wonderful Education Centre Coordinator in Sintra. She is a strong advocate of the power of the forum:

“It is a crucial tool within community management. It discusses the contents of the life of the group, in addition to highlighting the most significant accomplishments of the week. This also offers Explorers the opportunity to articulate interests and needs, as well as the continued building of relationships. It is in this sense, a routine that acts as a mediator that feeds the social regulation of the group but also gives them ownership of life within our Education Centre and beyond.” 

Do you want your children to feel empowered in their learning? Chat with us!