Seven Ways to Help High Schoolers Find Purpose: Support Every Student to Find Their Purpose

Diverse group of four high school students working and laughing with each other.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.

– Alexander Den Heijer



The below activity is designed for teachers and your leadership team.

Read this article on Seven Ways to Help High Schoolers Find Purpose by Patrick Cook-Deegan, and record your thoughts on the below prompts.

Examine if each of your students can identify the three interrelated factors essential to fostering purpose:

1) Their skills and strengths

2) What the world needs

3) What they love to do

Are the supports and opportunities each student is receiving both in and out of the classroom aligned to their skills and strengths, what the world needs, and what they love to do?

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