Let Them: A Mindset Shift for Schools
Mel Robbins’ best selling book, The Let Them Theory (2024), has been life changing for many. It seems everyone is talking about the power of those two simple words: Let them. As I continually reflect upon what school needs to be in order to equip students to thrive in our world today, those two words—let them—seem especially relevant. –Carmen Coleman
Two fifth grade girls wandered into my classroom after school, chatty and eager to help, just as they often did. I was always glad to see them—they’d been in my fourth grade class the year before—but that afternoon I had a long list of tasks waiting. One was setting up a miniature greenhouse for an upcoming plant unit, a job I’d put off while trying to determine how to best label each of the seed compartments. Being able to identify each sprouting seed would be an important part of the learning later on.
Out of desperation to find something to occupy the girls so I could focus on other tasks, I showed them the greenhouse, explained the labeling challenge, and told them I would love any ideas they might have. They quickly began to work.
I remember glancing up a few times from my desk to see the girls in what appeared to be a deep discussion about the task. They were really into it! They only interrupted me once—to ask for grid paper—something that would ultimately become a key part of their solution.
After about an hour, the girls excitedly told me they were ready to share their idea.
Using the grid paper, they’d created a diagram of the greenhouse complete with the correct number of sections, and had assigned a different color for each type of seed. Underneath the diagram was a key listing the different seed types, each with the corresponding color. Simple and brilliant—and a solution I hadn’t even considered. I was so impressed and proud of them. Perhaps even more importantly, they were proud of what they’d done.
What came about as a result of trying to keep my enthusiastic helpers busy turned out to be a powerful reminder of what our learners are capable of when given a chance. If two ten-year-olds could design a sound solution to the challenge of labeling the tiny compartments of this miniature greenhouse in a single afternoon, what else might they be capable of if I trusted them with real problems to solve?
Why This Matters
Several years later, after I’d made the transition from teacher to principal to superintendent, one of our high school seniors told me, “I know you are working hard to change what school is like for us, and here’s what I’ve just realized. I’ve been a student here for 13 years. I’ve been told what classes to take, how my time will be spent during the day, where to find answers in a book, how long papers have to be—even when I can go to the bathroom. Now that I’m getting ready to graduate, I’m facing all kinds of questions. Where are you going to college? What will your major be? What do you plan to do next? I have no idea how to answer because I’ve never had to make any decisions for myself.”
Nate’s words were tough to hear, but they made so much sense. Reflecting on my own practice, even as a teacher, I realize I contributed to this. I did most of the thinking and working in my classroom and, sadly, probably most of the learning. Allowing time for productive struggle was a luxury I didn’t feel I could afford. As educators, most of us will say we simply feel like we have too much to do—too many standards to cover—to provide time for students to grapple with challenges like the one I posed with the greenhouse.
But covering standards isn’t synonymous with learning.
When I think about the learning experiences I remember most, they weren’t the easy ones. I made mistakes, tried again, and kept at it until I figured it out. That’s what made it stick. Those challenges built persistence and resilience, and they’re the moments I’m most proud of. I can’t help but think this is true for most of us.
So knowing this, why don’t we approach the learning this way—with problems to solve and questions to answer?
Imagine classrooms where students are given the time and space to wrestle with real questions and meaningful problems. Picture a learning culture where curiosity isn’t an afterthought but the heartbeat of every day. What possibilities might unfold if we committed to making inquiry our shared way of thinking, allowing learners to actively explore, collaborate, create, and iterate? Mel Robbins calls it the Let Them theory, and it applies powerfully to education. Instead of rushing in with answers or holding our students’ hands through every step, what if we simply let them?
Beyond the Greenhouse: The Let Them Theory at Work
Like every teacher does in preparation for a new school year, I’d stand in the middle of my empty classroom, surrounded by stacks of books, bins of supplies, and the faint scent of freshly waxed floors, wondering how to arrange it all. I’d push desks into clusters, then into rows, then into a U-shape, stepping back each time to imagine how students would work best.
Once the layout felt right, I’d stick thematic name labels onto each desk and decide where every resource, poster, and bin should live. I thought about which spots would feel inviting for reading, which walls would be best for student work. I was thoughtful and deliberate in my preparation—and every decision was mine alone.
Years later, as superintendent, I saw a teacher take an approach that completely changed my thinking. It was a freshman class, interdisciplinary science and English. Two teachers had joined together with their content expertise to try project-based learning with a brand new course.
Wanting to signal a different kind of learning from day one, the teachers welcomed students into a completely empty classroom. No tables. No desks. No chairs. Nothing but a teacher’s desk in the corner. They greeted the students as if everything were perfectly normal. The unassuming freshmen drifted in, but quickly began glancing around with puzzled looks. After a few uneasy minutes, one finally asked the question everyone was thinking: “Where’s the furniture?”
One of the teachers simply answered, “We don’t have any.”
When all the students had arrived, some standing, some leaning on the walls, some who’d decided to sit on the floor, the teacher explained: “Because this is a new class, there weren’t tables or desks available. So, if we want those things, we have to build them.”
After a few minutes of stunned silence, the students started to work. They brainstormed, discussed, planned, prototyped, learned, reflected and iterated. They encountered problems—from initial disagreements about the kind of furniture they needed to freshly built tables with far from level surfaces. This was no small task. But they did it—within a few days, they successfully filled the once empty space with their own custom-designed furniture. Not only did the students walk away from those first days of class with new skills, they gained new confidence in themselves. What a way to set the tone for the year!
Maybe you aren’t quite ready to put power tools in your learners’ hands, but could they decide how to best arrange furniture in your classroom? Might they help determine the kinds of learning spaces and even materials they need?
Let Them Is a Culture
Providing students with the opportunity to design the layout of the classroom is a great start, but what else? A true learner-centered environment isn’t built on one-time opportunities—it’s a culture cultivated through the day-to-day experience in school. This is where Mel Robbins’ Let Them mindset can be so powerful. When we intentionally step back and share the work with students, we create space for them to make decisions, take ownership, and surprise us with what they’re capable of. These shifts don’t require an overhaul of the curriculum; they grow from the everyday choices we allow students to make.
Shift #1: Questions Before Answers
We know the importance of sharing learning intentions with students. In many classrooms, this takes the shape of learning targets posted somewhere in the room and shared with students to begin a lesson. But what if lessons began instead with carefully crafted questions designed to spark thinking and curiosity? And what if, as part of their reflection, students then had the chance to identify the learning targets themselves, discussing and writing them collaboratively? My bet is they might even craft learning targets more meaningful and clear than our own.
Success criteria is also important for students. But does it have to be teacher created? Instead, might students be part of deciding—and owning—what success looks like?
Shift #2: Students as Problem-Solvers, Owning and Leading
We spend so much time around tables with our adult colleagues looking at data and problem-solving. How might our students be brought into these conversations? Might they have insights and solutions we haven’t considered?
Imagine having a data wall shared with students, one that has information about important aspects of school. The wall could contain charts and graphs showing data representing different aspects of school—from achievement to attendance, accidents on the playground, participation in extracurricular activities, office referrals and student survey responses—accompanied by questions like, “What story does the data tell?” and “What else do we need to know?”
Just think of the interest, wonderings, ideas, solutions and even projects and curriculum that a simple shared data wall might generate!
Shift #3: Everyday Opportunities to Let Them
Beyond these structures, everyday opportunities through our routines and habits to let them matter too. We can…
Offer multiple pathways for demonstrating understanding (essay, model, video, podcast, artwork).
Allow for flexible collaboration by letting students choose to work solo, in pairs, or in groups.
Rotate shared leadership roles—leading discussions, facilitating labs, or running parts of class routines.
Encourage regular goal setting, reflection and action planning, giving students responsibility for their own progress.
Make space for learners to make everyday decisions, from selecting texts to shaping projects.
These simple but intentional shifts not only honor students’ voices and demonstrate our trust and confidence in them; they are simple ways to embed the power of pausing, stepping back, and letting them.
The Challenge they Deserve: Let Your Learners Surprise You
Cultivating enthusiastic learners, critical thinkers and problem-solvers isn’t a one-time project. It’s a culture. It starts with moments like the greenhouse challenge: authentic problems, real responsibility, and the space to think, experiment, and try again. Our students can do far more than we typically ask. They can design systems, interpret data, propose solutions—even craft their own learning targets.
Imagine giving students the time and space to wrestle with real decisions and meaningful problems. Picture classrooms where curiosity drives the day, where students are invited into the work, and where their ideas genuinely matter. These are the classrooms that cultivate thinkers, problem-solvers, and confident learners.
Tomorrow, give your students a chance to surprise you. Productive struggle isn’t a luxury—it’s essential. Let them wonder. Let them arrange the room, interpret the data, and generate solutions. Let them wrestle with the real work, whether it’s a question to answer or a problem to solve. They’ll rise to the challenge, and in letting them have that chance, you’ll gain inspiring insights into the leaders, creators, and problem-solvers they are becoming.
Carmen Coleman is a 30 year educator who is passionate about reimagining education through personalized, competency-based, and future-ready systems. With experience from classroom teacher to district leader, her work focuses on transforming the school experience from one developed to meet the needs of the Industrial Age to systems that equip learners to thrive in the world today. You can learn more about her work as a Kentucky district leader through Leading for Deeper Learning: A Series in Four Parts.