What's wrong with our children? We're constantly receiving disturbing news about a growing number of mental disorders: children and young people are increasingly unable to cope with their everyday lives without psychotherapeutic or medical support. Between the demands of performance at school and their constant presence on the internet, they lose their orientation as to what makes life worth living.

Their longing for life is diverted into consumer and entertainment needs that do not satisfy them. We should take new paths to address this longing. If we see life and education as adventures that challenge and delight us, the longing for life will not remain unquenched. This book is encouraging: it shows everyone who lives and works with children and young people how we can break out of routines and enable meaningful education.

Regine Köhler is a mother of three children, a doctor of educational science, a child and youth therapist and a school principal. In 2007 she founded the Herder School Pielenhofen and has been the director of this school since its inception.