Proactive Personal Responsibility

Marcel van Herpen's connectedness presentation positions positive relationships as the answer to exclusion in the education system.

The Netherlands-based educator is experienced in experiential education and asserts teachers look at what children cannot do, and look too little and too late at what they can do. While teachers hope their students are well, involved and successful, rather than disconnected failures, they tend to blame authority figures, methods and the system. They look to external factors and see themselves as an extension of that system, instead of taking personal responsibility for the disconnect of their students. This disconnect is extremely damaging to individuals, people and society.

There are many applications one can make from this connectedness presentation. By extrapolating these learnings from the education system to one's personal life or workplace, one can see the value of being proactive and being the change they wish to see. By looking at possibilities rather than problems and being open and available, disconnect can be reversed.