If you were to start from scratch and recreate schooling, what would you do? Only, it's more than just the question of what you would do—it's also why would you do it at all?
If Dewey was right, then education isn't preparation for life; education is life itself. Therefore, this idea is more than just about recreating school, it's about recreating life.
Welcome to the Education is Life podcast, where we have honest discussions about the state of education: where it is, where it can be, and all of the stories in between.
Each episode, the founder of Greenfields Academy, Rob Huge, will try his best not to vent about how broken schooling is today, but instead offer a glimpse of hope that there is a better way. One that honors the needs of our children and our world, rather than our entrenched interests and ties from the past that try to confine the way they think and learn.
We want everyone to take time to re-evaluate the kind of teachings and life we are offering our children, and whether it lives up to our obligations as parents and educators.
Greenfields Academy is a private micro-school based out of Chicago, IL, and a part of the Acton Academy network of schools. To learn more about the school and our 21st-century approach to education, please visit http://greenfieldsacademy.com.
Education Is Life [EP 26] with tutor Lindsay Zoeller
What does academic success mean to the students themselves? When their grades start slipping in a particular subject, what does that mean to them? In this interview with The Chicago Family Tutor owner Lindsay Zoeller, we quickly learn that tutoring is about much more than a cognitive understanding of math concepts or additional practice with reading. It’s time and space for a student to work through their relationship to a subject or skill with a trusted mentor and do one thing we love to do at Greenfields: fail safely!
What’s fascinating about Lindsay’s approach to tutoring comes from her unique background—not in education, but in family law. She shares with us how a child’s relationship with their parents can affect their schoolwork, and how working holistically with the whole family changes attitudes to create lasting results. At the root of many issues labeled as academic “deficiencies,” across subjects, isn’t a fundamental lack of understanding, but rather a gap in executive functioning skills tied to an emotion or a belief about themselves.
Lindsay wants families to think of her tutoring practice as their “third place” after home and work or school, a soft place to land, problem-solve and create a new plan for their next attempt. She believes that modeling vulnerability and sharing our stories with young learners (especially the moments when we have struggled ourselves) helps them develop a sense of self-worth. They learn that mistakes aren’t the end of the world and that they can get back up when they fall down.
Listen to this insightful discussion and learn more about the awesome resource that tutoring can be for your child and your family.
For more episodes, please subscribe to our podcast
http://greenfieldsacademy.com/podcast
25 May 2021
Education Is Life [EP 25] Learning is a non-conventional practice with Greenfields Parent, Chris G
We don’t hear it too often at Greenfields, but kids love to ask: “Why are we doing this?” “When will I need to use this in the real world?” At its core, this question is about much more than being bored or impatient with the subject at hand. It shows that kids care about the larger purpose behind their education. So what is that, exactly?
Chris Grenier’s experience with public school education is like so many others we have heard from other podcast guests. This Greenfields parent has a few standout memories such as dissecting worms and working at the school store to study marketing in high school. But his days spent in the classroom have all but blurred together.
In his interview, Chris talks about this common stumble through conventional education and how it led him to a college experience that was much different from what he expected. Chris did eventually find his niche in accounting, but it wasn’t his education that got him there: instead, he credits the applied knowledge that came from his work experiences.
Chris sees this process mirrored in the projects his daughter Amelia has worked on at Greenfields. He reminisces about some of them and points out what skills she has already demonstrated that many people don’t learn until adulthood.
Perhaps there isn’t a single purpose that can explain why educational excellence is important. But throughout this conversation, Chris and Rob highlight several examples that show how sticking to the “Education is Life'' principle creates better outcomes far beyond traditional ideas of academic success.
Thanks for listening! Be sure to rate this episode!
For more episodes, please subscribe to our podcast http://greenfieldsacademy.com/podcast
24 Mar 2021
Education Is Life [EP 24] Defying the “Just Deal with It,” Approach to Life with Greenfields Parent, Mitchel Bleier
Should we just “suck it up and deal with it” when life isn’t right or going our way in a job, a marriage, or a bad situation? What about school- is that for kids to just ‘deal with’ if it isn’t working?
Mitchel BleierGreenfields Academy parent invites parents to listen to children who are sending out the warning signals about school being broken- they are yelling it loud and clear!
In this Episode, we flip things around a bit from tradition when Rob & Mitchel have a discussion about the way school has always been defined as this place you go to, where you don’t seem to challenge, and even if it’s not working, the blame often is put on the child for not being able to manage it well. What if what was broken was the school, not the child?
He shares his story about how coming to this school was more than just a decision of where to send his child for education - but rather, to teach his son about becoming all that he could be for the rest of his life.
We are excited for you to dive-in, maybe even relate a little bit to this story of a family who has found themselves truly listening to the needs of their 10-year-old, and finding a thriving learning-for-life outcome because of it!
If you are interested in joining the movement as a student at our school, please visit greenfieldsacademy.com/
Thanks for listening! Be sure to rate this episode!
For more episodes, please subscribe to our podcast http://greenfieldsacademy.com/podcast
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