CYF for the I CARE Project: notes from an Educator
“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” (Socrate) In March, we concluded the Leadership classes with the third-year students of the Engim San Paolo Vocational Institute in Rome. During our time with the students, we explored all the nuances of learning at a young age. From those who ask, “What is a leader?”, “What does leadership mean?”, to the healthy skepticism towards new topics: “We only care about learning how to cook”, all the way to the curious eyes waiting for the evaluation of their business idea — the focus of the final group activity in class.“Professor, who won? Which group was the best?” We couldn’t be happier with the training experience we shared with these young people. These lessons embody the full meaning of the I Care project — a name that connects coaches and students: I care!We care about them, about what they represent for themselves and for the future of society, and they care about us, about what we passionately and skillfully try to share with them at school. Sometimes the sessions were challenging, with the need to get to know each other compressed into limited time, just enough to open up to listening and dialogue. But they always leave us with a sense of gratitude.Beneath those trendy fringes covering their eyes or that bold black eyeliner, there’s a whole world.There are students who are sharpening their professional paths, with potential just waiting to be unlocked.The energy that the Creasys Youth Foundation is dedicating to I Care is renewed every time we say goodbye to the students at Engim San Paolo. Thanks to the seeds we plant in them, and to the inspiration we receive from our students to develop new content — on life and job skills — increasingly focused on their real needs and personal interests, helping them make these skills truly their own. The bell rings, and as we leave those classrooms, we all walk out enriched — together.