Growing Big Frogs: Wonder, Possibility, and the Power of Childhood with Dr. Angus Fletcher

Reflections on Angus Fletcher’s Visit to The School in Rose Valley | Written by Liia Richmond, Director of Progressive Education | 

Last night, we welcomed Dr. Angus Fletcher, Professor of Story Science at The Ohio State University. Fletcher’s work draws on neuroscience, psychology, and literature to explore how humans develop creativity, resilience, and the ability to imagine new possibilities. He explored what children need to become creative, capable, and resilient thinkers, and why so much of that begins with how we approach childhood, and so much of what he shared connected to the philosophy and practices that have guided SRV since our beginning.

For those who couldn’t join us, we wanted to share some of the ideas from his presentation, along with reflections from our teachers.

Thinking in Possibilities, Not Just Probabilities

Dr. Fletcher began by talking about two ways of thinking: probability and possibility. The inferior parietal lobule is associated with probability thinking, which relies on what we already know. It uses existing patterns and information to determine what is most likely to happen. This kind of thinking is what people activate when solving problems with established answers, like mathematical calculations or crossword puzzles.

Possibility thinking, which is connected to the premotor cortex, is actually something entirely different. It is our capacity to imagine something that has never happened before, to ask “What if?” and envision an entirely new way forward. Dr. Fletcher shared that human intelligence has a remarkable ability to generate new possibilities, which computers or AI cannot. He used the invention of the airplane as an example of this. Based on what was known at the time, human flight was considered impossible. But possibility thinking allowed people to imagine something despite the odds or what the data said, and now, as my 3-year-old joyfully announces on nearly every car ride, “LOOK, AN AIRPLANE!” We’re flying all over the place. 

Children are natural possibility thinkers! They are imaginative, curious, experimental, and remarkably willing to explore ideas that adults might dismiss. This gives us an interesting lens to consider the role of education. How do we help children develop the knowledge and skills they need without diminishing their natural capacity to imagine, experiment, and think beyond what’s already known?

Growing Big Frogs: The Importance of Emotional Security

Dr. Fletcher then shared a study involving frogs. In the experiment, identical tadpoles were placed in two environments. In one, researchers used chemical signals to make the tadpoles think there was a predator, even though they weren’t actually in danger. In the other, tadpoles developed without that perceived threat. The tadpoles that spent their early development feeling threatened grew into frogs more quickly. It wasn’t safe to be a “child,” so to speak, so they grew up faster, but they were smaller. The tadpoles that weren’t experiencing that threat were able to take their time developing, ultimately growing into bigger frogs. So, what does this have to do with children? Like the frogs, when children feel safe, we know they have more freedom to explore, play, take healthy risks, and grow, rather than spending their energy responding to perceived threats. We want our children to have the time and emotional security to grow into big frogs!

But Fletcher also introduced an important distinction: emotional security does not mean eliminating every uncomfortable experience. Over the past several decades, conversations about safe spaces and trigger warnings have shaped how many think about protecting children (and teens/adults) from discomfort. And, of course, adults naturally want to protect children from disappointment, frustration, failure, and distress. We want to resolve problems, smooth out difficult moments, and make things feel better. Dr. Fletcher shared that removing discomfort actually doesn’t make children more emotionally resilient. Shielding children from manageable challenges can actually limit their opportunities to develop resilience and confidence in their own abilities. 

There is an important difference between creating an environment where children feel emotionally secure and creating one where they never experience difficulty. The goal is NOT to leave children unsupported or expose them to overwhelming stress, or to leave them in a stress-free oasis of comfort and happiness all the time. The ideal scenario is to allow them to experience manageable challenges within caring, supportive relationships, so they can begin to discover their own ability to respond. Think about a child struggling to build something, navigate a disagreement with a friend, or master a new skill. Our instinct might be to jump in and fix the problem. But sometimes, with a little patience and support, children can find a solution we never would have imagined ourselves. And each time they do, they learn something important about what they’re capable of. 

Wonder, Grit, and Antifragility

Next, Fletcher introduced the concept of antifragility. Resilience is often understood as the ability to recover from difficulty and antifragility goes a bit further. It’s the idea that we can actually learn, grow, and become stronger through challenging experiences. One of the most important ways we can build this capacity is through something that may seem surprisingly simple: wonder.

Wonder happens when we discover a new possibility, often accompanied by the feeling of positive surprise. Wonder is connected to two important areas of development:

• Grit, which develops when we discover positive surprises in our own stories. We recognize that we’ve faced challenges, learned new things, and found ways forward that we couldn’t initially imagine.
• Growth, which develops when we discover positive surprises in other people’s stories. By encountering different perspectives and experiences, we expand our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

This connects to the stories children tell themselves about who they are and what they’re capable of. For example, a child might begin with the belief, “I’m not good at this.” After working through a challenge, though, they will begin to see a different possibility: “That was hard, but I figured something out. Maybe I can do this.” The story they tell themselves begins to change!

Dr. Fletcher described our lives as stories with many possible paths. Just because something hasn’t worked out the way we expected doesn’t mean the story is over – there are always other possibilities to discover. One of the ways to activate that possibility mindset is to think in stories; to develop a personal narrative that includes your own experiences of wonder and possibility. This ability is connected to creative problem-solving, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship. Whether we’re inventing something new, starting a business, or finding an unexpected solution to a problem, it begins with our ability to imagine something that doesn’t exist yet.

Wonder requires time and space. It requires opportunities to be curious, to get lost in a thought, to experiment, or to simply notice something unexpected.Technology and constant stimulation by design interferes with wonder. When every quiet moment is filled with immediate entertainment or stimulation, we have fewer opportunities for discoveries. This is something we OFTEN think about,  especially when we consider how much of childhood is increasingly scheduled, structured, or filled with screens. We are committed to protecting wonder in childhood because when we give children the time and freedom to discover new possibilities, they’re literally developing the tools and skills they’ll draw on for the rest of their lives.

The major takeaways: 

I was struck by how closely Dr. Fletcher’s ideas reflected what we have long understood about children and learning here at SRV. These aren’t new concepts for those of us who know progressive education. In many ways, they’re the foundation of what we’ve been doing here for nearly a century. Dr. Fletcher’s work provides a scientific perspective on something we’ve known through experience through our work with children every day. 

At the heart of this approach is the understanding that supporting children doesn’t always mean making things easier for them. Sometimes it means giving them time to figure something out. Sometimes it means sitting with a little discomfort ourselves while they work through a challenge. And sometimes it means recognizing that the path a child takes might look quite different from the one we imagined for them.

None of this growth happens accidentally. Knowing children well and respecting them as individuals is what makes this developmental work possible. When teachers understand a child’s strengths, interests, fears, and growing capabilities, they can recognize what the just-right challenge looks like for that particular child. They know when to offer support, when to ask another question, when to push a little further, and when to step back. Children aren’t simply receiving information; they’re actively constructing knowledge and developing a real understanding of and curiosity for what they’re learning. Rather than memorizing facts in isolation, they’re making connections, applying skills in new contexts, asking increasingly sophisticated questions, and learning to think critically about the world around them. In the process, children develop a love of learning. 

This is a part of progressive education that’s difficult to capture in a weekly update, explain on a tour, or measure through internal assessments or a narrative report. It shows up through the confidence a child develops after working through something they initially believed they couldn’t do, or the creativity that emerges when a child has the freedom to experiment without knowing exactly what the outcome should look like, or when they learn to make mistakes, try again, think on their feet, and find solutions they hadn’t ever considered before. It shows up through the independence, curiosity, and sense of self that develop over years through hundreds of small experiences. These are the building blocks of capable, creative, adaptable adults, and they matter more than ever in our tech-heavy, AI-everywhere world. But they’re also among the hardest outcomes of education to quantify. That requires a good amount of trust from families, to trust the process, the teachers who know their children, and the value of growth happening each day, even when it’s not immediately visible or measurable. It’s thoughtful, intentional, deeply relational work, and it’s something we’re incredibly proud to do at SRV. We see its impact every day, often in moments that might look ordinary from the outside but show something much bigger in a child’s development.

Dr. Fletcher’s work is a wonderful validator that childhood isn’t preparation for adulthood, or that we should rush through to try to be the best computer-users or rule-followers. It’s a valuable stage of life in its own right, one that deserves the time, space, security, and freedom to unfold. And creating the conditions for that kind of childhood has always been at the heart of The School in Rose Valley.

Reflections from Some SRV Teachers:

Following Fletcher’s presentation, several of our teachers shared what resonated most with them. We thought their reflections were worth passing along, too!

On preserving children’s creativity

Laurie, Coordinator of Student Learning, pointed out an interesting contradiction in conventional education: We can spend years teaching children to conform, follow directions, and find the correct answers, only to send them into a world where success increasingly depends on creativity, innovation, and the ability to think differently.

It’s an interesting question for educators and parents alike: How do we help children acquire the skills they need without teaching them to stop thinking creatively?

On growing big frogs

Rory, Director of Enrollment Management, summed up Fletcher’s frog analogy with a reminder: Make sure we’re creating ponds where our children can grow into big frogs! Tiffany, Assistant Teacher in Preschool, added an important distinction. The big frog wasn’t simply a frog that grew larger or faster. It was a frog that had the emotional security and time to move through development naturally, without being rushed by stress.

On letting children struggle

Carrie, Director of Community Engagement, reflected on the importance of allowing children to struggle a little, as long as they aren’t experiencing distress. Rather than immediately stepping in, we can remind children of challenges they’ve already overcome and help them recognize what they’re capable of.

Tiffany also raised an important point about the adults in these situations. Sometimes watching a child struggle is genuinely uncomfortable for us because of how deeply we care about them. But our discomfort isn’t necessarily the same as the child’s distress. Instead of responding to our own instinct to fix things, we can pause and observe. How is this particular child handling the situation? Are they frustrated but still engaged? Are they overwhelmed? Do they need encouragement, a little help, or space to work through the problem themselves? The more ownership children have over navigating manageable challenges, the more opportunities they have to develop confidence in their own ability to handle stress and solve problems.

Carrie also wondered whether adult-created “safe spaces” can sometimes unintentionally communicate that children need adults to manage difficult experiences for them, rather than helping children develop their own sense of safety and security.

On honoring children’s individuality

Another reflection that came up was about trees in a forest. Carrie noted that parents understandably worry when their children aren’t developing exactly the same strengths in exactly the same way as their peers. Whether academically, socially, or emotionally, it’s easy to wonder if a child is doing okay when their path looks different from everyone else’s. But, Dr. Fletcher said, think about a forest. The trees aren’t all the same! They grow at different rates, take different shapes, and have different needs. And those differences are part of what makes a forest healthy.

As Rory pointed out, there’s no “best” tree.

It’s a lovely reminder that helping children grow doesn’t mean helping them all become the same kind of person. It means understanding each child as an individual and giving them what they need to thrive.

We’re grateful to Angus Fletcher for spending the evening with our community and giving us so much to think and talk about. We hope these ideas spark a few more conversations at home and at school, too! To learn more about his work or purchase his book, click here.