Thank you for this. Resonated with me especially after having read this article: https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2025/10/theres-too-much-doom-and-gloom-in-the-classroom/. That article made me think of your book which is what made me head to your substack where I found this piece. Curious if you're familiar with the work of Jeremy Clifton on primals? (see the article I linked or Google him)
Having taught in England and now living in Finland, I see stark differences in civic education between the two countries (not unexpected), but the difference that has surprised me the most is the entrepreneurship education here. There are far more opportunities to practice entrepreneurial skills, and they are highly valued here, compared to England where I think it’s fair to say entrepreneurial education is almost exclusively available to those with direct connections.
But I also see this and civic education having a different meanings here: service, contributing to society, trust in others and being trusted (Finnish workers have very high autonomy), respect for others’ free time etc.
I was surprised you didn’t explicitly discuss competition/competitiveness wasn’t covered explicitly. Maybe that’s intentional.
A topic that merits far more attention and kids involved in the conversation. They may be far better at helping themselves than we give them credit as their sense of civic thriving and what that means tends to be quite pronounced and deserves support perhaps, rather than than 'helping'? Thank you Jenny for posting this.
Oooh -- so good & so thought-provoking! And so challenging to create in our current situation & climate. This -- " it needs to be rooted in what truly helps humans thrive, and designed to co-exist alongside the power and limitations of AI." -- I think is exactly what we need. But I don't know how to get there b/c our society seems to have chosen, again and again and again, what will make a profit, not what will help people thrive. We know so much already about what humans and communities need to thrive and we have not built our society around that. I know I can't single-handedly change that; I know we need to start small & that each of us can do things within our power & spheres to build connection & support human thriving. Still, I wish those w the power & money currently shared those same goals.
Thank you for this. Resonated with me especially after having read this article: https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2025/10/theres-too-much-doom-and-gloom-in-the-classroom/. That article made me think of your book which is what made me head to your substack where I found this piece. Curious if you're familiar with the work of Jeremy Clifton on primals? (see the article I linked or Google him)
Having taught in England and now living in Finland, I see stark differences in civic education between the two countries (not unexpected), but the difference that has surprised me the most is the entrepreneurship education here. There are far more opportunities to practice entrepreneurial skills, and they are highly valued here, compared to England where I think it’s fair to say entrepreneurial education is almost exclusively available to those with direct connections.
But I also see this and civic education having a different meanings here: service, contributing to society, trust in others and being trusted (Finnish workers have very high autonomy), respect for others’ free time etc.
I was surprised you didn’t explicitly discuss competition/competitiveness wasn’t covered explicitly. Maybe that’s intentional.
A topic that merits far more attention and kids involved in the conversation. They may be far better at helping themselves than we give them credit as their sense of civic thriving and what that means tends to be quite pronounced and deserves support perhaps, rather than than 'helping'? Thank you Jenny for posting this.
Without yet reading the newsletter, I’m going to say YES. Now off to read…
Oooh -- so good & so thought-provoking! And so challenging to create in our current situation & climate. This -- " it needs to be rooted in what truly helps humans thrive, and designed to co-exist alongside the power and limitations of AI." -- I think is exactly what we need. But I don't know how to get there b/c our society seems to have chosen, again and again and again, what will make a profit, not what will help people thrive. We know so much already about what humans and communities need to thrive and we have not built our society around that. I know I can't single-handedly change that; I know we need to start small & that each of us can do things within our power & spheres to build connection & support human thriving. Still, I wish those w the power & money currently shared those same goals.