As 2026 begins, we want to talk about one issue that deeply affects people and shapes the future: trust in education.
In 2025, many news stories pointed to the same concerns—teachers under heavy pressure, frequent complaints, conflicts between parents and schools, and growing tension in classrooms.
These stories often make us ask a simple but important question:
What is education really about? And when did it become so confrontational?

If this situation continues, fewer people will want to become teachers.Teachers will find it harder to teach with confidence.Parents will feel more anxious.Children will grow up surrounded by tension and opposition.In the end, what is damaged is not one group—but the entire education ecosystem.

In Parenting CommonWealth Magazine’s 2026 Annual Trends Report, two sentences invite us to pause and reflect:
“The education system is quietly losing its most precious asset: trust.”
“What needs rebuilding is not more complaint systems, but an environment of trust—
where teachers feel safe to teach, parents are willing to trust, and children feel free to speak.”

At plantārium, we promote sustainability and plant-based living, and we also care deeply about education.We believe that a healthy ecosystem does not grow through conflict, but through mutual support.Education is also an ecosystem.When trust and empathy return, many challenges can move away from confrontation and back into dialogue.

At the beginning of the year, we invite everyone—parents, educators, and young people alike—to reflect on three simple questions:
1. What does education mean to me?
Is it only about grades and performance, or about learning how to think, grow, and live with others?
2. What role am I playing?
Am I helping others grow, or have I unintentionally become someone who only supervises, criticizes, or competes?
3. When disagreements happen, do I choose to blame—or to talk?
Can I listen first, express my needs clearly, and work together toward a solution?

If you are willing, let this year begin with one small step:
move from opposition to understanding, and replace blame with dialogue.

This article is a collaborative project with Lead For Taiwan.