In this thesis, I will argue that it is important to encourage empowered adaptability through developing autonomy in school. I believe that emphasizing the importance of unique individual experiences through life and education would help more teenagers survive high school and beyond. Surviving high school is more than graduating; it includes maneuvering the personal, academic, and social twists that threaten to pull many teenagers into destructive tendencies. For me, autonomy means an internal understanding and guiding of the thought processes and actions, including what morals and values to abide by, why we came to those perspectives, acting on our perspectives, and accepting the responsibility for the consequences that may follow. Autonomy is not acting without recourse. Nor is it acting purely out of self-interest. If I am “autonomous” I think, I evaluate, I act as my own person, and I accept the responsibility in questioning the world and learning to live with the answers.
When I say that I want students to survive, I mean that in addition to the literal definition of “surviving,” I want high school students to leave school confident in their abilities to adapt to the complications and unexpected surprises in life along their personally evaluated best possible terms. They deserve to feel empowered to adapt to new and unexpected scenarios. When I say that I want teenagers to thrive, I mean that I believe they deserve to experience personal gratification in their achievements. I chose to frame this exploration of possibilities for autonomy and adaptability around ideas of knowledge, morality, and experience, with the goal of preparing myself and others to consider ways to help students experience critical consciousness. This paper utilizes the works of educational theorists such as Constance Kamii, John Dewey, and Paulo Freire to explore ways in which autonomous adaptability might help more students both survive and thrive.