Gracie Chick, aged 19, from Essex, was home-educated, which taught her to see herself as a small but significant part of a much bigger picture. Along with collaborators, is establishing Third Dimension, an organisation which will create classroom resources that allow young people to discover who they are beyond the two dimensional labels they are given and explore their common humanity, with the ultimate goal of unleashing the transformative potential of collective wisdom.
“The Big Education Challenge will be part of the collective journey to connect young people through discovering their third dimension and learning about their common humanity, with the ultimate goal of unleashing the transformative potential of collective wisdom.”
About Gracie
Gracie’s home education gave her a unique perspective on the education system, she believes in its potential to foster personal growth beyond grades. From the age of 14 she has led various impactful community initiatives, from highlighting stories of hundreds of individuals tackling mental health issues in their communities to uniting communities through food.
The problem
The current education sets young people up to understand themselves in a simplistic, two-dimensional way such as ‘the failing student’ or the ‘straight As student’.
They are not supported to explore the different aspects of their humanity (their third dimension) such as their emotions, personal stories, beliefs and worldviews to understand themselves more deeply.
This two-dimensional perspective can dominate their perceptions of themselves and their futures.
“We have to stop seeing and defining young people in two dimensions when there is so much more to who they are.”
The bold idea
Classroom resources (differentiated for age) will be created to enable young people to meaningfully and safely engage with stories that bring humanity to life and with the complex emotions, beliefs and experiences that shape who they are so that they can positively impact their own lives and that of others. The resource will guide teachers in facilitating classroom conversations in a safe and productive way.
The project has the potential to promote understanding, social responsibility, community resilience, meaningful relationships, simply by teaching kids about themselves. The intention is that the resource will foster a classroom environment that is truly a place of equality, trust and community where young people are recognised, able to express their humanity and see the humanity in others, alongside their teachers.
“I believe I have an idea that has the potential to transform society and that comes with a responsibility to make it accessible to every single young person, instead waiting for them to find me. Where better to start than to take it straight into the classroom?”
Together we can make big change
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