Preparing Students for the Age of Agency

Achievement Is No Longer Enough

Author

Stephen Carter
February 02, 2026

Quick note—don’t miss your chance to be part of one of the most energizing events of 2026: the Entrepreneurship Symposium for Christian Schools. Whether you’re building an entrepreneurship program or ready to launch one, this gathering will accelerate your impact.

One of my favorite parts of visiting schools across the United States is this: the conversations always end with a great reading recommendation.

I had just finished 10 to 25 when a friend handed me an article from the Winter 2026 issue of Independent School by Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson.

And together, they landed on the same message:

In the world our students are walking into, achievement is a starting point, not a finish line.

Yeager calls it the Mentor Mindset: the posture that holds high standards and high support at the same time. Not the Protector Mindset (high support, low expectations) and not the Enforcer Mindset (high expectations, low support). Mentor Mindset is the sweet spot where students are challenged and coached.

Winthrop and Anderson describe a parallel shift: from the “Age of Achievement,” where the system trains students to optimize grades and approval, to an “Age of Agency,” where students must learn to set meaningful goals, navigate obstacles, use resources, and (most importantly) ask for help without shame.

That last piece matters more than we like to admit.

When school silently teaches that “smart” means “never needing help,” students don’t just fear failure, they fear exposure. They learn to protect their image instead of pursuing the work.

Agency changes that.

Agency says: I can own a goal. I can take a step. I can learn what I don’t know. I can get support and keep moving.

And that connects directly to Grit—because grit isn’t macho intensity or stubborn willpower. It’s sustained pursuit of a meaningful goal over time, through difficulty, with feedback, with adjustment.

Here’s the part schools can’t miss:

The Age of Agency doesn’t lower expectations. It redefines rigor.

Rigor isn’t only precision and performance. It’s also exploration, iteration, resilience, and recovery. It’s measuring progress—not just perfection. It’s building students who can think, adapt, and act when the script changes.

This is why I keep coming back to the entrepreneurial mindset.

When students practice growth mindset, they build agency. When they build agency, they become grittier. When they become grittier, they learn to redefine failure. And when they learn to redefine failure, they become opportunity seekers: the kind of young adults who don’t just survive change, they create good in the middle of it.

Language creates culture. And when the culture is right, the fruit is abundant.

If your school is ready to build agency on purpose—not by accident—reach out.

Standing out as a Christian school while staying true to your values is more challenging than ever. At Seed Tree Group, we help schools implement a proven entrepreneurship program that empowers students to take ownership of their education, equipping them with life-ready skills and creating a distinguished school with engaged students, inspired parents, and energized donors.

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Imagine your culture infused with growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking. Imagine your team acting and thinking like entrepreneurs.

Stephen Carter