What we forget after the first week of school

It's September, and in the Northern Hemisphere, a familiar energy is in the air as schools opened their doors after the summer holidays. Think about those first few days, especially with new students.

We call them welcome days or induction weeks. We run icebreakers, team-building games, and more open-ended activities. We say it’s to help students get acquainted with the school, but we also know it has a huge value for us as educators. It's our best chance to observe them in the wild—to see who leads, who connects, who asks for help, who actually needs it and when, and what truly makes them tick.

We encourage schools to start where learning really begins—through play, curiosity, and discovery. It's not about formal instruction; it's about initiation. When learners are given the freedom to explore without a predefined outcome, they begin to discover what drives them, and we get to see who they really are.

So when you reflect on this opening week, ask yourself:

Are we facilitating enough time for what we at allLearners call Freedom to Experiment & Research? Or was it too structured, with a lack of free play? And did your staff have the chance to actually observe and take notes? And if you are a school leader, did you observe and take notes on what went well, so you can genuinely tell your staff what they should keep on doing?

Let’s take it one step further: First week is over. The bell rings for Week 2. The timetables kick in, the curriculum map takes over, and that precious space for discovery vanishes.

We fall into a trap: we act as if the person we met in Week 1 is the same person we'll have in Week 8, or Week 30. But learners are not static. They are constantly developing new interests, new habits, and new ways of thinking. Their behaviour and roles change.

If:
      ...we allow them
      ... we offer them this freedom again, and again

That's why Freedom to Experiment & Research can't be a once-a-year event. It needs to be a regular practice. It's the space where we can truly observe and get to know our students as they evolve. More importantly, it’s the space where they get to know themselves on a deeper level, find what motivates them, and connect with their own "Why".