We often tell people to have hope, yet hope is not something that has typically been “taught.” The word itself is often misused in the popular media, used more like a “wish” than something we control with action. So how can we expect people to move from hopelessness to hope, unless we teach them how?
This is why we are so passionate about teaching hope, especially to kids. We know if we reach them at an early age (before 10), the skills we teach them are much easier to integrate. And by teaching hope skills at an early age, we are equipping them with the roadmap they need to start reaching their goals.
Our programs meet both National Health Educational Standards (NHES) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Guidelines. You can find all the information about how on the Hopeful Minds website and in the curriculums themselves. The programs are used across cultures, yet we suggest you adapt stories and Hope Heroes to make them more culturally specific.
It has an impact not just on the students, but the educators as well. Our program has been downloaded by more than 1500 educators around the world, with more accessing it every day. We have translated the student workbooks to Spanish, and are doing our best to get the programs translated to other languages as well. We welcome your support in making that happen.
As hope is predictive of not just life outcomes, but school outcomes, we believe every child must be taught the “how to” of hope. Their level of hope impacts their ability to graduate, their engagement in class, their learning, and overall health, which all relate to a city’s ability to function. Hope even predicts their sports performance, so we encourage you to inspire kids to hope using athletes as examples.
