This weekend I attended and presented at the ReimaginED conference at Yokohama International School. I found myself impacted by the stories of the global educators gathered to explore ideas about learning, leadership, and the future of education. What also stood out was the structure of the event itself. Intentional time for reflection was built into the schedule and genuinely valued, allowing conversations and ideas to percolate. After three days of learning and reflection, as Valerie Hannon delivered the conference’s final provocation, I found myself returning to a simple but powerful question.

What is the purpose of education?

There are many answers. Some say schools exist to prepare students academically. Others frame education as economic readiness, civic preparation, or the development of future skills.

As the discussion unfolded, an answer came to me that felt both simple and deeply human.

The purpose of education is to foster a sense of care.

Care for people.
Care for yourself.
Care for your sense of place.
Care for ideas.
Care for the world around you.

Care to listen.
Care to agree and care to disagree.
Care to stand up when no one else will.
Care to celebrate those around you.

Something powerful happens when people care. When we care about something, we begin to ask questions. We want to understand more. We notice things we may have overlooked before. We listen more carefully and think more deeply.

Curiosity may begin the learning journey, but care is what sustains it.

Without care, learning can easily become compliance. Students complete tasks because they are asked to. They gather information because it is required. The work is finished, but the meaning rarely stays with them.

When students care, something shifts. Questions deepen. Conversations become richer. Learning begins to matter.

This is one of the reasons inquiry-based learning can be so powerful, even if it is sometimes misunderstood. Inquiry is not simply about asking open-ended questions or giving students choice. At its heart, inquiry invites students to explore ideas and problems that are meaningful.

Philosopher John Dewey argued that education should connect learners to the real conditions of life around them. When students explore questions that reach beyond the classroom, curiosity often grows into something deeper.

It becomes care.

Students begin to care about the ideas they are exploring. They care about the perspectives of others. They care about the implications of what they are learning and how it connects to the world around them.

And when people care, learning no longer feels like something external imposed upon them. It becomes something personal.

Earlier in the conference I had been sharing a workshop about the idea of learning ecosystems. In a healthy learning ecosystem, the experiences within a school are interconnected. Space, pedagogy, and community interact in ways that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Reflecting later on the question about the purpose of education, I was reminded that care may be the force that allows an ecosystem like this to thrive. When people care, they design learning spaces differently. They create pedagogies that invite curiosity and dialogue. They build communities where collaboration and belonging can take root.

Care turns a school from a structure into a living system.

This idea feels especially important in a moment when technology, and increasingly artificial intelligence, is becoming part of the learning landscape. AI can help organize information, generate ideas, and accelerate certain processes. But there is something essential it cannot replace.

Care.

Care requires empathy.
Care requires discernment.
Care requires relationships.

This is why the idea of keeping the human in the loop matters so much in education. Technology may support learning, but the meaning and direction of that learning must remain deeply human.

Teachers and school leaders play a central role in sustaining this. They are designers of experiences, mentors of thinking, and stewards of the learning community. Their care shapes the conditions in which inquiry can flourish.

And just as students develop care through learning, educators deepen their own care through the process of learning alongside them.

Perhaps this is why the most powerful schools are not simply places where knowledge is delivered. They are places where curiosity is welcomed, relationships are valued, and people feel a sense of responsibility toward one another and toward the world around them.

Perhaps the deepest purpose of education is helping people care enough to learn, and learn enough to care.

*AI was used as a thought partner during the drafting and editing of this piece.