Education Is Life Podcast

Rob Huge
Education Is Life Podcast

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.

  1. Education Is Life [EP 26] with tutor Lindsay Zoeller

    26/05/2021

    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

    57 min
  2. Education Is Life [EP 24] Defying the “Just Deal with It,” Approach to Life with Greenfields Parent, Mitchel Bleier

    24/03/2021

    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

    35 min
  3. Education Is Life [EP 21] Stop Competing and Start Creating - Using Music to Heal the World with Adrienne Schroeder

    20/01/2021

    Education Is Life [EP 21] Stop Competing and Start Creating - Using Music to Heal the World with Adrienne Schroeder

    What challenges really come up when we are in this win-lose world filled with competition and grades? What can we be as a society if we get to create who we are and express ourselves fully!? For Adrienne Shroeder, founder of Mindful Music Impact Beyond the Notes, her journey through a life filled with music, challenges, and emotional development has led her here to the podcast today. She currently serves as a Piano and French Horn educator with virtual lessons while being a leader of social-emotional learning for each of her young students. Through some of her darkest times, she attributes the “doer”side of music performance to hinder the self-expression of “become who you really are.” This mindset, as she shares, has anchored her down while using music in a new way to find light. We relate that to the way this pandemic has been challenging for students and the solution of finding an outlet, such as music, to propel them forward into the work of becoming their whole selves, even in tough times. Adrienne, like the rest of our community of people who keep it real, break down how to keep moving forward in this pandemic world by simply being empathetic and there for one another. She provides helpful ways for her students to get out feeling “stuck” or “unheard” in a complex world. BONUS- Listen to Adrienne perform a little something special for our audience at the end after she guides us into a hopeful, happy, and mindful way to be! The upcoming event, My Pandemic Life, invites students of all ages from all schools and learning communities to unite for a virtual Youth Expo around self-expression. Join us on February 25th for your access into more narratives and performances by people who are rising above through creative self expression. If you are interested in joining the movement as a student at our school, please visit http://greenfieldsacademy.com/podcast Thanks for listening! Be sure to rate this episode! For more episodes, please subscribe to our podcast!

    44 min
  4. Education Is Life [EP 20] with Allison James - Empathetic Entrepreneurship & Innovative Inventions

    29/10/2020

    Education Is Life [EP 20] with Allison James - Empathetic Entrepreneurship & Innovative Inventions

    How is traditional education squashing the possibilities of solutions & new opportunities for the world to thrive? From food deserts to cancer patients receiving chemotherapy- young children are capable of coming up with solutions to some of life’s biggest challenges that even adults can’t quite get just right. Program Manager of the Chicago Student Invention Convention (CSIC), and Greenfields Academy’s Chicago Children’s Business Fair Judge, Allison James, shares her experience with the experiential invention education program that ignites the spark of innovation and entrepreneurship in Illinois youth. In this episode, Rob & Allison uncover some of the ways that students of the CSIC program & the annual Chicago Children’s Business Fair who are taking advantage of the opportunity to think of new ideas without needing to have any regard for “getting the answer wrong” in school- and instead, use their real-world experience to create something brand new! With the insertion of creativity in learning, there is absolutely no end for a student to come up with innovative ideas that one day might just change the world! The Chicago Children’s Business Fair is now accepting Student Vendors until November 2nd, and our fair will run virtually across the weekend of November 13th, 14th, 15th- get your FREE ticket today! https://bit.ly/ChicagoChildrensBizFair If you are interested in joining the movement as a student at our school, please visit greenfieldsacademy.com/

    50 min
  5. Education Is Life [EP 19] Rethinking College, Academia, and the Purpose of Education with Vero Smith

    21/10/2020

    Education Is Life [EP 19] Rethinking College, Academia, and the Purpose of Education with Vero Smith

    From Teaching College to Guiding at Greenfields, we hope that you find an abundance of insight in this episode of Education Is Life! Starting with the concept of Time Deserts vs. Education Deserts- have you thought of the difference in how much time people spend having to work just to have access to the bare essentials with the opportunities presented in the current education system? Vero Smith shares insights and ideas around what tools students really need to operate as a school & as a society, while comparing today to the way we’ve always done things. She is also a guide at Greenfields Academy & we are so grateful to have her! Vero saw a lot of challenges around access to higher education during her time in a large, public R1 higher educational institution. As an Architectural Historian, she explains how she sees creating spaces within education in both a classroom & a more habitat context. In this episode, we take a deeper look at the purpose of higher education & earning a bachelor's degree is challenged in certain populations & geographical areas through the population -what Vero shares in some current research she is working on publishing and to give us a fresh perspective of the true value of higher education for some people. 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: https://education-is-life-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/

    43 min

About

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.

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