We know that learners operate in what is called the Zone of Proximal Development and that it is a thin line that divides ‘challenging’ from ‘overwhelming.’  The space between what one can do independently and what one can do with guidance or in collaboration with peers is an essential component of human growth. With attentive teachers in a carefully prepared environment, Sabot students are encouraged to take ownership of their own learning as they come to perceive their role as part of a group, as a member of a community, and as a necessary citizen in a global society.

When 6th grade embarked on research about slavery in Virginia, they made trips to different cemeteries in Richmond, visited Monticello, and traveled to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. While they grappled (are still grappling)  with the atrocities of history, their own complicated city, and the present-day climate of violence and upheaval, they are also growing in an awareness of their own responsibilities, privileges, and rights. They are imagining a future in which they themselves have power—as voters, as business owners, as decision-makers, as teachers themselves. When a Middle School  student notes that “those using power over others usually cause harm, while those using power with/to/within were often the change makers—those working for the greater good” Sabot can feel confident that it is a space not only for transformational education, but for hopeful change.