By Miranda L. Egger & Lawrence Ramos
Relationship educators might benefit from shifting their idea of great facilitation from deliverer of information to architect of a positive learning experience designed with your specific participants in mind. Your participants don't just need you to get comfortable with the curriculum; they also need you to recognize the value of their emotional engagement, be curious enough to consider cultural adaptations, and design your curriculum for universal accessibility.

A recent Harvard Youth Poll reveals a dramatic shift in optimism: only 25% of young adults feel hopeful about the country's future. Just five years ago, that number sat at a strong 55%. Yet “optimism is America’s birthright.” The marriage movement stems from this sense of traditional American optimism. 1 And relationship education aims to give people greater hope, a stronger sense of agency, and the needed cognitive and behavioral skills to achieve their family aspirations. But what happens when the inherent optimism of relationship education collides with pervasive pessimism that seems baked into the current cultural zeitgeist and personal doubts about marriage and family life? And how does this affect the work of relationship educators? I don’t have all the answers. But I think I have some important questions and a few sensible implications that RE practitioners should be thinking about.