Devotion | To be the best version of themselves

‘To be the best version of themselves’ 

 Recently I was fortunate to participate on the Contemporary Learning tour of New Zealand. We visited some great schools who had a clear sense of their ‘why’: they could articulate clearly who they are and for what they stand.  

A phrase that I heard repeatedly was that the schools, through the program they offer to their community, were aiming for students ‘to be the best version of themselves’.  

This is definitely a phrase which resonates with me. As schools and ECSs we should be aiming to encourage our students to explore, to wonder, to take risks so that they develop as individuals and be the best they can be.  

In thinking this through I had to ponder why this resonated with me and why it is a value that I as an educator hold deeply. My wonderings took me to the Lutheran lens in Growing Deep where one of the theological statements says: 

Lutheran schools and early childhood services are communities that recognise that God has intentionally created each person and that each person is uniquely gifted to live in relationship with God and others. 

It is because God has created each person and intentionally done so, that our schools are called to honour this by encouraging each student to become the best version of themselves – the version that has been created by God.  

This belief, that God has intentionally created each person, should be embedded in our learning philosophy and should guide and drive our decisions in what we offer, how we teach, the relationships we build with the students. It is our WHY. 

So while we are also aiming for students to become the best version of themselves, we are doing so because we recognise that each student in our care has been intentionally created by God (warts and all!). It is our calling to support this development and growth.