Designing Schools for Agency

This was one of my favorite experiences during the 2025-26 school year.  My class was in charge of hosting the monthly assembly and they decided to focus on holidays around the world with a common theme of light.  

As a class, we explored why so many cultures use light as a central focus, especially in the winter time.  They were surprised at how this was a common theme in religious practices and cultural hero stories. 

This group above learned about St. Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman soldier who famously shared his cloak with a freezing beggar.  This story resonated with them and they wanted to recreate it through a self-made dramatic play.  I helped with some of the writing, but all of the ideas were their own. 

I've never seen a group of boys so happy to act out a play before, especially Leo who was the horse.  Just like the legend, they shared the message that 
giving charity and warmth to others brings light into our own lives. 

As we reflected on this experience, they shared how much they appreciated the opportunity to create everything themselves.  It was their production, not mine.  This has stayed with me over the past year.  

There is no magic structure for designing agency in our schools.  It's about giving space to our learner's to make their own choices, testing them out, failing at times, and reflecting on the process.  This is how we grow as humans, so why should it not be the same in schools?

With this being said, agency is also about skill development.  Learner's need to have the prior skills to achieve the task or they get frustrated.  I had already taught about cultures usage of light in holidays, the magic of reader's theatre,  and the impact stories have on cultures.  From there, they were able to weave the pieces together to create something that was their own. 

How are you doing this for your learners?