We all want more student initiative and participation.

We all want more student initiative and participation.

But the way we try to get there?
Often based on the wrong assumptions.

We reward the ‘right answers’, expect learners to ‘step up’,
and wonder why they keep waiting to be told what to do.

🚨 I’ve said these things before.
Still catch myself thinking them sometimes.
And I hear them all around me:

“My students don’t take initiative.”
“They wait to be told.”
“They need to be more independent.”

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
You can’t demand initiative in a culture built on permission.
You can’t expect ownership in a system designed for obedience.

We forget:
Initiative isn’t a behaviour you can demand on cue.
It’s a response to the circumstances we create.

Take a Year 8 learner who’s been passive in class discussions for weeks.
Instead of calling them out, we should quietly shift the dynamic:
create a smaller discussion group, include topics the learner is passionate about.

Within days, the learner starts volunteering ideas more often —
not because they were told to,
but because the environment finally made it feel possible.

And the first ingredient?
Safety.

The kind of safety that lets a learner say:
“"I want to be part of this."
I want to try it— but I’m scared.”
“I need support, not instructions.”

📌 Safety is the launchpad for stretch.
Because no one volunteers to take risks in a room where mistakes are punished or ignored.

So if you’re not seeing initiative…
Don’t push harder.
Look closer.

What have we built?
A space for growth — or a culture of quiet compliance?

Belonging before boldness.
Always.