Love in Education: Why Feeling Accepted Powers Learning

Kristijan Musek Lešnik
Nov 18, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Nov 26, 2025

What do young people need most from us? Love that says “you are seen and safe.” From early attachment to teen years, unconditional acceptance fuels curiosity, resilience, and courage. Let's look at why teacher presence matters—especially during transitions—and how simple daily gestures (listening, naming, noticing) build belonging for every student, including the most vulnerable.

“Love can be unconditional while expectations for behavior remain clear.”

The first and most fundamental need every child has in their relationship with adults is to feel accepted, valued, and loved.

A child who feels that

we care about them,
we notice their needs,
we enjoy their company, and
we are happy they are around

feels safe.

A loving sense of acceptance and being valued in early childhood is the foundation of healthy development. Without it, a child cannot thrive emotionally or socially. Such relationships build the trust that allows them to explore the world and grow with confidence — knowing they are safe and seen.

The Lifelong Need to Feel Accepted

That fundamental sense of being accepted remains just as important throughout all the years of growing up — which is why children often test it, again and again.

Even teenagers need love and acceptance, though they may seek it in different ways than younger children. What matters most is that they feel loved for who they are, not only for what they achieve or how they behave.

Adults who make love or acceptance conditional — who convey the message, “I will care for you if you meet my expectations” — may unknowingly deprive children of one of the most essential experiences for future emotional health.

Love can be unconditional while expectations for behavior remain clear. We can accept the child and still guide the behavior.

Seeing Each Child as a Unique Individual

A good teacher sees every student as a unique person — with their own hopes and worries, dreams and fears, strengths and vulnerabilities. Of course, it’s impossible to have exactly the same relationship with every child. Just as among adults, some people feel closer to us than others; some children are easier to like than others, and we relate to some more easily than to others. But there is no reason we cannot give each child the sense of being accepted and valued.

It doesn’t require grand gestures. Sometimes all it takes is a genuine smile, a kind word, or the time to listen when a child needs to be heard.

The Role of Teachers and Caregivers

Many young children spend more hours each day with their teachers and caregivers than with their parents. The quality of those relationships shapes not only their experience of school but also their sense of belonging and self-worth.

As children move from the early primary grades onward, the emotional bond with a single teacher often disappears. For those who already lack emotional support at home, this loss can be especially painful.

That’s why it’s crucial — particularly for vulnerable students — that someone at school remains a stable, caring adult in their lives. Someone who helps them feel safe, worthy, and loved just as they are.

Love Is the Ground on Which Growth Happens

Love is not a soft extra in education — it’s the soil from which all learning and growth emerge.

Children who feel loved can take risks, make mistakes, and try again. They develop curiosity, courage, and compassion — the qualities that shape a healthy, whole human being.

When we meet children with open hearts, and show through our presence and attention that they matter, we give them the confidence to become their true selves.

Reflection

Every child deserves to feel loved — not because they have earned it, but because they are. When we offer love freely, without conditions, we help children build the inner foundation on which joy, resilience, and wisdom can grow.

Love is not something extra we add to education. It is education at its deepest level.