At one point in 2011, there was a suggestion our provincial government change the Ministry of Education into the Ministry of Human Development. After all, the landscape of education had drastically changed over the last century and the needs of students shifted.

Before considering the public outcry at what that proposal would’ve provoked if taken under serious consideration, it presents an interesting thought experiment.

It would first give a solid answer to the question, what is education for today?

Human development would suggest our schools are no longer arbiters of knowledge to students, but support systems for a holistic development of the individual. Knowledge might be a side benefit.

My kids are in daycare right now and this is exactly what they’re doing and it seems to be working.

As a parent, this is what I try to do with my kids every day, giving them my full attention and supporting them in their growth. While there’s no metric to tell how things are going, I’m doing the best I can.

Which is what any loving parent does.

This new label would also suggest we as adults might get things wrong. There wouldn’t be a definite answer for every situation, but the building would be a safe place to make those mistakes.

The role of the teacher would change drastically, including the credentials required for certification.

Instead of competing interests of publishing corporations of textbooks and digital devices, it would be the interests of academic scholars of psychology—each one espousing the virtues of their particular psychoanalytic theory of development and why it serves the needs of our students the best.

It would provide room for mentorship in all fields and interests, not privileging certain subject areas.

It may not work.

It may be just what we need.

It’s an interesting thought.