Across Europe, young people are questioning the promises they grew up with. Perhaps it’s time we started questioning some of our own assumptions about education.
Young people across Europe are taking to the streets. In France, high school students have demanded better school conditions, more teachers, and fairer educational opportunities. Meanwhile, demonstrations over housing in Barcelona and Lisbon have highlighted another troubling reality: even a good education and a steady job no longer guarantee an independent life.
These movements have different causes, and not all of them have been peaceful. Violence, looting, and vandalism are never acceptable forms of protest. But condemning them should not mean dismissing the legitimate concerns behind them.
Together, they raise a question that deserves our attention: What happens when a generation begins to lose faith in the future it was promised?
The Promise That No Longer Holds
For generations, we have told our children a straightforward story: study hard, get good grades, earn a degree, find a good job, and build a better life.
Education was supposed to open doors. Hard work was supposed to pay off.
But young people are increasingly questioning whether that promise still holds.
Why should I devote years to learning things whose relevance I cannot see? Why should I unquestioningly adapt to a system that seems increasingly incapable of adapting to the world? Why should I spend decades working toward a life I may never be able to afford?
In France, students are asking whether their schools are giving them a fair chance to succeed. Elsewhere, the question comes from the other end of the journey: what happens when young people do everything they were told to do, only to discover that even with qualifications and employment, they may still struggle to afford a home or build the life they imagined?
Some are challenging whether education can get them where they need to go. Others are doubting whether the destination they were promised is even within reach.
But there is another possibility worth considering: what if young people are beginning to question the destination itself?
What If They Want a Different Future?
We often assume that young people want what previous generations wanted: a stable career, financial security, and a predictable future.
Yet many members of Generation Z are challenging this traditional definition of success.
Financial security still matters, perhaps more than ever. But so do meaningful work, personal freedom, a healthy balance between work and personal life, and the opportunity to define success on their own terms.
They are not necessarily rejecting ambition or hard work. They are questioning the assumption that success must come at the expense of everything else.
This shift in priorities may have implications beyond their own lives. A generation that defines success more broadly may also be more prepared to reconsider how we treat our planet, use its resources, and measure progress. Success might come to mean not only what we achieve or accumulate, but also what we contribute and what we leave behind.
And if our understanding of success is changing, education must change with it.
Preparing young people for the job market is no longer enough. They need to learn to think independently, navigate uncertainty, adapt to a constantly changing world, recognize opportunities, make choices that reflect their values, and keep learning throughout their lives. The ability to learn may prove far more valuable than any particular body of knowledge.
Education should not simply prepare young people to find their place in the world. It should equip them to shape it.
Are We, as Parents, Ready to Question the System Too?
Young people are challenging the institutions and expectations they have inherited. They are questioning familiar assumptions and refusing to accept old promises at face value.
But are we prepared to do the same?
If we want our children to become independent thinkers, capable of challenging the status quo, we must be willing to challenge our own assumptions about education.
Must learning happen in a classroom? Should children of the same age learn the same things at the same pace? Is academic achievement really the most reliable measure of future success?
Most of us grew up within the traditional school system, and it is natural to trust what feels familiar. But familiarity is not the same as effectiveness.
Governments can reform education policies. Schools can introduce new methods. Parents, however, bring something no institution can fully replicate: a personal understanding of their children and a lifelong commitment to their future.
We may not be able to redesign the entire education system. But we can question what we expect from it, explore alternatives, and make choices that better reflect our children’s individual needs.
Meaningful educational change does not have to begin with institutions. It can begin with us.
When Learning Starts with the Child
We don’t simply need different schools. We need a different approach to learning.
Education should do more than deliver information and measure academic performance. It should nurture curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, independence, and the confidence to explore unfamiliar territory. It should help young people discover their strengths, pursue meaningful interests, and learn to take responsibility for their own development.
Personalized, interest-driven learning offers a different starting point.
There is a common assumption that allowing children to follow their interests means expecting less of them. Yet the opposite can be true. When young people are genuinely curious about something, they often explore it with a depth, persistence, and determination that no assignment could demand. They ask questions, seek answers, experiment, encounter difficulties, and try again. Not simply because they have to, but because they want to understand.
This does not mean leaving children to learn on their own. It means a powerful and valuable partnership: the child’s curiosity, the parent’s deep understanding of their child, and an experienced educator’s guidance, working together.
When a parent’s unique understanding of their child meets an educator’s expertise and the child’s own interests and curiosity, they can create a learning journey that truly reflects the child’s personality, needs, and aspirations. One that allows the child not only to learn effectively, but to find genuine joy in learning.
What if education were built around this kind of collaboration, rather than expecting every child to fit into a predetermined system?
It means rethinking the role of education: providing inspiration, excellent learning resources, knowledgeable mentors, meaningful challenges, and opportunities to put ideas into practice. Rather than prescribing every step, education can help young people take increasing ownership of their learning.
Along the way, they develop skills that extend far beyond any particular subject: how to find information, think critically, solve problems, set goals, reflect on their progress, and make informed choices.
And perhaps most importantly, they begin to understand not only the world around them, but themselves — their abilities, interests, values, and aspirations.
Real learning, after all, is about understanding ourselves and the world we live in, and discovering how we can live well in it, contribute to it, and make it better.
Not Our Future. Theirs.
As parents, we cannot control the world our children will inherit. We cannot guarantee economic security, meaningful work, personal freedom, or a life with room for everything that matters to them.
But we can help them develop the confidence, self-awareness, independence, and skills to pursue these things for themselves — and the courage to challenge the circumstances that stand in their way and to look for better solutions.
We cannot teach our children to question the world while refusing to question the way we educate them.
What If We’re Preparing Our Children for the Wrong Future?
Across Europe, young people are questioning the promises they grew up with. Perhaps it’s time we started questioning some of our own assumptions about education.
Young people across Europe are taking to the streets. In France, high school students have demanded better school conditions, more teachers, and fairer educational opportunities. Meanwhile, demonstrations over housing in Barcelona and Lisbon have highlighted another troubling reality: even a good education and a steady job no longer guarantee an independent life.
These movements have different causes, and not all of them have been peaceful. Violence, looting, and vandalism are never acceptable forms of protest. But condemning them should not mean dismissing the legitimate concerns behind them.
Together, they raise a question that deserves our attention: What happens when a generation begins to lose faith in the future it was promised?
The Promise That No Longer Holds
For generations, we have told our children a straightforward story: study hard, get good grades, earn a degree, find a good job, and build a better life.
Education was supposed to open doors. Hard work was supposed to pay off.
But young people are increasingly questioning whether that promise still holds.
Why should I devote years to learning things whose relevance I cannot see? Why should I unquestioningly adapt to a system that seems increasingly incapable of adapting to the world? Why should I spend decades working toward a life I may never be able to afford?
In France, students are asking whether their schools are giving them a fair chance to succeed. Elsewhere, the question comes from the other end of the journey: what happens when young people do everything they were told to do, only to discover that even with qualifications and employment, they may still struggle to afford a home or build the life they imagined?
Some are challenging whether education can get them where they need to go. Others are doubting whether the destination they were promised is even within reach.
But there is another possibility worth considering: what if young people are beginning to question the destination itself?
What If They Want a Different Future?
We often assume that young people want what previous generations wanted: a stable career, financial security, and a predictable future.
Yet many members of Generation Z are challenging this traditional definition of success.
Financial security still matters, perhaps more than ever. But so do meaningful work, personal freedom, a healthy balance between work and personal life, and the opportunity to define success on their own terms.
They are not necessarily rejecting ambition or hard work. They are questioning the assumption that success must come at the expense of everything else.
This shift in priorities may have implications beyond their own lives. A generation that defines success more broadly may also be more prepared to reconsider how we treat our planet, use its resources, and measure progress. Success might come to mean not only what we achieve or accumulate, but also what we contribute and what we leave behind.
And if our understanding of success is changing, education must change with it.
Preparing young people for the job market is no longer enough. They need to learn to think independently, navigate uncertainty, adapt to a constantly changing world, recognize opportunities, make choices that reflect their values, and keep learning throughout their lives. The ability to learn may prove far more valuable than any particular body of knowledge.
Education should not simply prepare young people to find their place in the world. It should equip them to shape it.
Are We, as Parents, Ready to Question the System Too?
Young people are challenging the institutions and expectations they have inherited. They are questioning familiar assumptions and refusing to accept old promises at face value.
But are we prepared to do the same?
If we want our children to become independent thinkers, capable of challenging the status quo, we must be willing to challenge our own assumptions about education.
Must learning happen in a classroom? Should children of the same age learn the same things at the same pace? Is academic achievement really the most reliable measure of future success?
Most of us grew up within the traditional school system, and it is natural to trust what feels familiar. But familiarity is not the same as effectiveness.
Governments can reform education policies. Schools can introduce new methods. Parents, however, bring something no institution can fully replicate: a personal understanding of their children and a lifelong commitment to their future.
We may not be able to redesign the entire education system. But we can question what we expect from it, explore alternatives, and make choices that better reflect our children’s individual needs.
Meaningful educational change does not have to begin with institutions. It can begin with us.
When Learning Starts with the Child
We don’t simply need different schools. We need a different approach to learning.
Education should do more than deliver information and measure academic performance. It should nurture curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, independence, and the confidence to explore unfamiliar territory. It should help young people discover their strengths, pursue meaningful interests, and learn to take responsibility for their own development.
Personalized, interest-driven learning offers a different starting point.
There is a common assumption that allowing children to follow their interests means expecting less of them. Yet the opposite can be true. When young people are genuinely curious about something, they often explore it with a depth, persistence, and determination that no assignment could demand. They ask questions, seek answers, experiment, encounter difficulties, and try again. Not simply because they have to, but because they want to understand.
This does not mean leaving children to learn on their own. It means a powerful and valuable partnership: the child’s curiosity, the parent’s deep understanding of their child, and an experienced educator’s guidance, working together.
When a parent’s unique understanding of their child meets an educator’s expertise and the child’s own interests and curiosity, they can create a learning journey that truly reflects the child’s personality, needs, and aspirations. One that allows the child not only to learn effectively, but to find genuine joy in learning.
What if education were built around this kind of collaboration, rather than expecting every child to fit into a predetermined system?
It means rethinking the role of education: providing inspiration, excellent learning resources, knowledgeable mentors, meaningful challenges, and opportunities to put ideas into practice. Rather than prescribing every step, education can help young people take increasing ownership of their learning.
Along the way, they develop skills that extend far beyond any particular subject: how to find information, think critically, solve problems, set goals, reflect on their progress, and make informed choices.
And perhaps most importantly, they begin to understand not only the world around them, but themselves — their abilities, interests, values, and aspirations.
Real learning, after all, is about understanding ourselves and the world we live in, and discovering how we can live well in it, contribute to it, and make it better.
Not Our Future. Theirs.
As parents, we cannot control the world our children will inherit. We cannot guarantee economic security, meaningful work, personal freedom, or a life with room for everything that matters to them.
But we can help them develop the confidence, self-awareness, independence, and skills to pursue these things for themselves — and the courage to challenge the circumstances that stand in their way and to look for better solutions.
We cannot teach our children to question the world while refusing to question the way we educate them.
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