Authenticity & Honesty: What We Can Pass On to Students

Kristijan Musek Lešnik
Nov 10, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Nov 26, 2025

Authenticity is the inner compass that lets young people act in line with their values, feelings, and needs. Schools grow authenticity by modeling honesty, building emotional safety, and teaching kind truth-telling.

“To be authentic is to notice, name, and express your true needs, feelings, and interests—and to act in ways that align with them. Young people learn this by watching adults and by how we respond to their “I feel…” and “I don’t like…” moments.”

Somewhere along the path of growing up, most of us face a quiet question — often without realizing it: Should I follow what others expect of me, or should I listen to my own heart?

Every parent, teacher, and educator carries ideas about a child’s potential — who they might become, what would make them happy or successful. Those ideas are rooted in our own experiences, emotions, and beliefs. But in helping children grow, we must remember: their task is not to become who we imagine them of becoming — but who they truly are.

What Does It Mean to Be Authentic?

To be authentic means to understand and express one’s true needs, feelings, and interests.

In childhood, the ability to express emotions, desires, and thoughts develops through the patterns children observe in adults — and through how adults respond to their early expressions of self. Every time a child says, “I don’t like that,” or “I’m sad,” they are exploring who they are. Adult reactions — whether acceptance, dismissal, or disapproval — teach them whether it is safe to be genuine. Based on these early experiences, they learn to align their actions with their inner feelings and wishes — or to hide them.

And here lies the catch:

When actions match inner truth, young people feel secure, connected, and whole.
When they don’t — when children learn to perform, please, or hide — anxiety, shame, and disconnection begin to grow.

When We Accept a Child’s Authentic Self

When we welcome a child’s authentic expressions — their feelings, interests, and opinions — we help them build an inner compass. They learn to recognize, understand, and express their inner states with confidence. They begin to trust that their emotions are valid, their needs are real, and their voice matters.

But when we dismiss or minimize their experiences — “That’s nothing to be sad about.” “Be nice to your cousin, even if you don’t like her.” — we teach them to hide or suppress parts of themselves to meet adult expectations. That’s when self-alienation begins — when children start believing that who they truly are isn’t acceptable.

When Authenticity Feels Unsafe

Authenticity is guided by a genuine sense of self and deeply held values. Young people can struggle to connect with their true feelings if they fear rejection or disapproval — from adults or peers who matter to them. They may learn to wear emotional masks: always smiling, always agreeable, always “fine.” But inside, they feel unseen.

Authenticity requires emotional safety. Without it, even the most capable young people lose touch with their own voice.

Authenticity: The Foundation of Mental Health

The more we understand our own emotions, thoughts, and needs, the better we can align our choices with them. When our actions reflect our true feelings and values, we feel more at peace, more fulfilled, and less vulnerable to anxiety or depression.

We feel accepted when we can be ourselves. When we are forced to act against our true nature — to please, to conform, to hide — we feel disconnected and unworthy.

Balancing Authenticity with Empathy

Being authentic doesn’t mean saying or doing whatever we want. Sometimes, expressing what we feel may challenge social norms or expectations — and that can lead to tension or conflict.

Teaching authenticity means helping children learn to balance honesty with empathy: to speak truth kindly, to express feelings with respect, and to stay true to themselves while caring for others.

How I Can Nurture Authenticity in Young People

Encourage emotional awareness. Help them notice and name both pleasant and unpleasant emotions.
Share stories that celebrate authenticity. Use books and films that show the strength of being true to oneself.
Model authenticity yourself. Let them see you express your own emotions, opinions, and interests honestly.
Value who they are, not just what they achieve. Let your relationship with them depend on their integrity and self-expression — not on how well they meet your expectations.

When they learn that it is safe to be themselves, they don’t just become confident —they become whole.

Final Thought

Authenticity is the bridge between inner truth and outer life. When we help young people stay connected to that truth — even when the world tells them to adjust, perform, or pretend — we give them something priceless: The courage to be real.