by Dr. Peggy Pelonis

Engaging The Minds And Hearts Of All Academic Institution Stakeholders

Note From President Dr. Peggy Pelonis

At the onset of the 21st Century, it was evident that the world was developing in manifold and multifaceted ways suggesting the need or rather the necessity for a different type of citizen. The values and ethics oftentimes guiding social and political institutions are more so under examination and are being directly challenged as life and living on the planet become endangered. The United Nations Global Goals agenda adopted in 2015 by 193 countries suggests that unless sustainability is accomplished by 2030 (UN, 2015), life and living will drastically deteriorate. Whether or not one acknowledges the Global Goal agenda, simply noticing the harmful effects of inequality, lack of access to education, climate change, or polluted oceans and land suggests that humanity is on a course that will ultimately adversely affect all humans. Thus, 21st-century global and societal needs require an educational trajectory that strives “to empower individuals to transform the world as architects of their own learning to thrive as conscious global citizens to improve life and living on the planet” (ACS Athens vision); an educational philosophy that presupposes that knowledge is individually and socially constructed by learners who are active observers of the world, active questioners, agile problem posers, and critical and creative problem solvers; an educational philosophy that embraces conscious citizenship by recognizing that young learners, as all human beings, are constantly in a ‘state of becoming’ and that developing mindsets and ways of being in harmony with all living things, will ultimately develop citizens whose acts reflect such a higher purpose.

Developing internationally minded students who are ‘comfortable’ anywhere in the world and who take their rightful place as global citizens; confident in their ability to use knowledge effectively and able to make ethical and moral, political, social, aesthetic, and economic choices, is the aim of institutions such as ACS Athens. Individuals are socially rooted; survival depends to a large degree on cooperating with others and usually others with whom similar values, principles, and beliefs are shared. Furthermore, succeeding in today’s world is synonymous with continuous competition, and competition presupposes a winner and a loser; diametrically opposed to the idea that man is social and needs others to survive, thus requiring cooperation. The rate at which technology is advancing and at which Artificial Intelligence is influencing and facilitating our daily living is unprecedented. Thus, empowering human intelligence infused with the above-mentioned values is necessary more than ever and can be seen through the lens of conscious citizenship.

A conscious citizen is (s)he who places value on being fully human while connecting with a higher purpose; one who values human life and the relationship with all living things and takes responsibility for turning knowledge and skill into action to ultimately improve life and living on the planet. Conscious citizenship, ultimately, is more a way of being and living rather than doing and is developed by creating the conditions to expand awareness of social, global, and environmental conditions while being encouraged to self-reflect on how one contributes daily to a better world, contributes to a worse world or makes no contribution. A Conscious Citizen of the world ‘sees’ the interconnection of their own actions and the consequences of these and strives towards a higher purpose of creating harmonious and optimal living. A conscious citizen is continuously in a state of ‘becoming’ and ideally reaches a developmental, emotional, and spiritual level of ‘being’ in harmony with life. This way of being naturally and effortlessly translates into action because it is just the way one lives.

Questions educators must continuously reflect on are: what kind of educational institution could effectively respond to the changing social, political, ethical, and psychological demands of a complex globalized landscape? What type of model could encompass the ability to cope with and thrive with contin-

uous transformation? What kind of student could be developed in an institution effectively responding to constant change, societal demands, and global challenges while allowing for and applauding the unique individuality of each student? In other words, how can young people be better prepared for the demands of living in a globally aware world? What should their educational experience encompass? What habits of mind and heart should they possess? And what principles and values should guide their actions, personally and professionally?

The answer comes from engaging the minds and hearts of all academic institution stakeholders; students, faculty, administrators, specialists, staff, parents, and friends who are prepared to engage in and commit to serving a higher purpose; the family, community, nation, world so as to ensure sustainability. Thus developing the type of education that relates to this type of world is the focus of schools like ACS Athens, an academic institution that meets students where they are and guides them towards achieving excellence by designing programs with intentional excellence; an institution that contributes to a well-rounded society; where differences are respected and differing views are encouraged and seen as enriching the community; where collaboration among different nationalities is a natural unfolding mindset, and international mindedness is encouraged. Likewise, schools focused intentionally on developing Conscious world citizens follow the conviction that educators not only provide the platform for all students to acquire the skills and knowledge to succeed in a competitive world but also acquire the values and mindsets to make ethical decisions and work toward improving human lives and life on the planet. Thus school programs integrate civic engagement and social responsibility and provide a standard to strive towards, such as the Global Goals, allowing students to contribute to a higher purpose by taking care of things at home. Such an educational philosophy rethinks the school as a professional learning laboratory where a student model develops a leadership identity guided by ethical decision-making. Action then not only creates opportunity for profit and career advancement or entrepreneurship but deliberately designs innovation for the good of the whole; the community, the planet, and the whole of humanity by starting in one’s “corner” of the world. Ultimately and ideally, cultivating such mindsets leads to a way of being in the world and in relation to the world and all living things. Schools that encourage and empower this type of ‘becoming’ will ultimately send out into the world a conscious global citizen.