Wonder parents measure middle school progress with Weekly Points, Badges Earned, 360 Coaching Reviews, and Months until Launchpad.

The Wonder learning journey is unique in several “disrupting” ways. One of these is that portfolios and exhibitions take the place of report cards. So if an exhibition project does not work, is it a failure or a learning opportunity?

Our quest as parents is more about forming character than celebrating report cards. It’s failure – having the courage to risk being knocked down and getting back up again — that makes the hero, not excellence itself.

Why do we want to teach our children that the best defense against bullies is to absorb them into our lives as a necessary evil? What if schools were small enough so no one could hide; and learning to be kind was built into the governance systems and was a necessary achievement for progress at school?

The simple choices of being kind and working each day end up feeding each other so the alternative doesn’t make sense anymore as a good way to live life.