here that a fundamental change is needed in schools and the education system.... With this book it is my deep wish to make a contribution to this." --M. Glöckler, pediatrician

How do we accompany and support the development of children and adolescents to motivated them to face coming challenges? What skills are needed to solve global problems of social injustice and to deal creatively with the consequences of today's ecological and economic crises? What must the education system become so that it prepares adults to be less molded by existing conditions and thus more capable of seeing the needed changes for the future? Which activities in the classroom are needed so that initiative and entrepreneurial motivation can develop for the realization of new ideas? What does age-appropriate media education look like to teach the best ways to become mature and competent in dealing with information technology?

Regardless of the problem we are considering, we need courage and confidence, health and joie de vivre. How can school and the home environment create the necessary conditions for developing these qualities?

This book is a plea for radically realigning guidance and education for the healthy development of children and adolescents--and at the right time instead of adhering to performance goals established by economic and government policies.

In view of the increasing worldwide life expectancy, this is an urgent need, because healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual maturation is the ideal prerequisite for a creative life in old age. This is why the annual milestones of human development are at the center of this book, and all children have a right to education during the first eighteen years of life--regardless of the certification or degree to which they aspire.