Looking back, and a small step forward
It’s December, a natural moment to look back, but also to look ahead. That’s exactly what I’d like to do in this update.
I won’t take much of your time. Below is a simple overview of what you’ll find in this newsletter, so you can decide what to read now, and what to skip while your thoughts drift toward a well-deserved break.
In this update:
1. A short look back at 2025
2025 was a year in which inspiring and supporting people started to land more consistently. I had the privilege of working with educators and school leaders across Italy, Norway, Denmark, Australia, England, The Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, China, India, Kenya, Switzerland, and Honduras, many of which I was able to visit in person. I feel genuinely honoured to learn from such diverse cultures and contexts.
Alongside this, the allLearners website was renewed, making free materials easier to find and use. This year, we launched the online Reimagine Education Program. The way participants valued it (far beyond my expectations) was, for me, one of the proudest moments of 2025.
And behind the scenes, we’ve been working on new software to support motivation-driven, personal learning journeys.
2. One piece of general advice, based on 2025
Looking across all these contexts, one pattern keeps returning:
Don’t try to fix people. Give them circumstances to grow, and they will.
3. A small question for you, and an invitation
A newsletter is, by nature, quite one-directional. I write, you read. If this update is going to stay relevant in 2026, I don’t want to rely on assumptions.
That’s why I created this very short survey (about 2 minutes). It asks how you experience this newsletter, how often you’d like to receive it, and which questions or topics you’d like me to explore in 2026.
Your input helps me decide what to keep, what to stop, and where to go deeper.
With the new year coming up, we’ll also take a short pause.
The allLearners Update will be offline for a couple of weeks.
I hope you have a well-deserved holiday, time to rest, reflect, and recharge.
Our next update will land in your inbox on January 6.
Wishing you all the best for 2026.
Warm regards,
Rob Houben
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