Education Is Life Podcast

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 ...

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 ...

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 w...

Education Is Life [EP 23] Teach a Girl to Throw a Ball; Change Her Life

Along the lines of creating something unique for your outside-of-school activities, check out the My Pandemic Life Creative Expo coming up on March 18th - 21st for another great way to see how education in young people is more than academics. It is important to emphasize social & emotional learning, along with athletic and physical development to make a greater impact on each of our lives!   Sign up for FREE to the event: https://bit.ly/pandemiclifeebsignup   If you are interested in joi...

Education Is Life [EP 23] Perspective from our Youngest Griffins Sonia and Shaurya

How many podcasts do you hear from young people about what school and learning is like? Brace yourself for cuteness and stay curious about how these young people are taking charge of their education, their learning, and life through a pandemic. “Is it a big change or a change like the size of a … pea!?” They giggle, we giggle, and this is a little how this episode goes with a lot of first-hand insight. Hear from 6 and 7-year-olds, Sonia and Shaurya, who share what it’s like to be in the ...

Education Is Life [EP 22] Perspective from our Youngest Griffins Sonia and Shaurya

How many podcasts do you hear from young people about what school and learning is like? Brace yourself for cuteness and stay curious about how these young people are taking charge of their education, their learning, and life through a pandemic. “Is it a big change or a change like the size of a … pea!?” They giggle, we giggle, and this is a little how this episode goes with a lot of first-hand insight. Hear from 6 and 7-year-olds, Sonia and Shaurya, who share what it’s like to be in the ...

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

Visit Adrienne Schroeder's Website: https://www.adrienneschroeder.com/ If you are interested in the My Pandemic Life Creative Youth Expo, more information here: https://www.greenfieldsacademy.com/my-pandemic-life

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 e...

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 so...

Education Is Life [EP 18] Insider’s Tips to Succeed as a Vendor at the Chicago Children’s Business Fair

With years of experience, young entrepreneurs start businesses from as early as the age of 7 at the Chicago Children’s Business Fair, hosted by Greenfields Academy.   Founding student, Aviva, has participated as a business owner for the last 6 years and has a treasure trove of knowledge for any first-time students looking to become a kidpreneur this year at the fair.   With the unique circumstances of COVID19 allowing the fair to be a Cyber event, here are some interesting tips & ideas f...

Education Is Life [EP 17] This Micro-School is Keep up with a Changing World

With education that truly guides children into exploring their full potential to change the world, what could that mean for our society?  At the start of this journey, founder Rob Huge had visioned a school that honored the amazing things that a young person has to offer and worked hard to incorporate a style that incorporated guiding instead of teaching. We explore this in more depth in this episode.  Although students may not be learning alongside a standardized curriculum that ...

Education Is Life [EP 17] This Micro-School is Keeping up with a Changing World

With education that truly guides children into exploring their full potential to change the world, what could that mean for our society?  At the start of this journey, founder Rob Huge had visioned a school that honored the amazing things that a young person has to offer and worked hard to incorporate a style that incorporated guiding instead of teaching. We explore this in more depth in this episode.  Although students may not be learning alongside a standardized curriculum that focuses o...

Education Is Life [EP 16] The College Admissions Process & Student Self-Worth from a Counselor’s Perspective - is it worth it?

How are we approaching the fierce and competitive nature of college admissions and how does it impact the self-worth of students? Student-centered college counseling takes the allure of big-name schools and questions, “Is this right for my child,” as the focus of the conversation and replaces the old way of thinking of “how can my child do everything possible to get into that school one day.” Looking at Generation Z, a more pragmatic demographic set of students than Millenials, how are t...

Education Is Life [EP15] Analyzing the Psychology of Stress & Anxiety in Young Adults with Andrea

Psychologist Andrea always knew she was destined to be a helper. Throughout her time as a liberal arts college psychologist, she quickly realized that when struggling children were helped TOO much, problems arose. From the start of her 11 years working with college students (2004-2015), an increasing number of them came to her with mental issues such as anxiety and depression. She focused on supporting them in ways that helped them understand life in their own control, but couldn’t help but...

Education Is Life [EP14] The Importance of School - Life Balance with Student Ozan

Figuring out how to live a life that doesn’t allow work to absorb all of your time is a valuable life lesson to learn, but imagine knowing all about work-life balance as a 12-year-old! In this episode of, “Education Is Life,” we speak with Greenfields Academy Griffin, Ozan, who is balancing his responsibilities with ease! As yet another way of learning about “life itself,” students at Greenfields Academy prioritize their time outside of the school hours to focus on their interests and othe...

Education Is Life [EP13] with Greenfield’s Guide Becca Penzick on Learning without the Red Tape

How the student feels about the way they learn and the environment in which they learn is crucial to start developing at a young age. Having a loose, but not lazy approach to guiding from the teacher-figures in school creates learning that encourages children to feel more comfortable to explore who they are & what they are interested in. In this Episode, Greenfields Academy guide, Becca Penzick, has a vast background in psychology, early education & helping young people grow & develop the...

Education Is Life [EP12] with Guest Mona Yaeger on Racism & Education

You may not be hearing too much from an education standpoint around racism. Schools across the country may not have the ability to have a powerful discussion with different perspectives from various individuals to talk about how we can do better for our children in schools - not for Greenfields Academy! With monumental, world-changing events taking place after George Floyd’s death earlier this month with protests around anti-racism, our focus as a school & community of change-makers gladly ...

Education Is Life [EP11] with Greenfields Academy Student Michael

When we think about our young people, how much do they really understand about the world around them? What do they learn in school & what is it that they get to explore beyond their own parent’s biases while at home? Is this something taught in school that allows them to go deeper beyond curriculum & standardization? We are very interested in allowing our young people to start to develop the skills and knowledge around finding out more about themselves, their interests and passions, and g...

Education Is Life [EP10] with Greenfields Guide Pawel

We don’t have teachers at our school- we have guides. Here’s a perspective from Pawel, middle school/explorer program “guide” at Greenfields Academy. The journey of finding your passion is one of the most transformative & exciting realizations to experience. This is what we discuss in this week’s episode of Education Is Life with Greenfields Academy Guide, Pawel K With a background as a guide at a completely different program, BitSpace, Pawel explains how children can defy even their own p...

Education Is Life [EP 09] with Greenfields Alumni Student Amelia H

There is a real difference between Greenfields Academy education & any other school, take it not from the adults, but from the perspectives of the students themselves! One of our founding Griffins, Amelia, shares with us what her experience was like as a student of 5 years at Chicago private school, Greenfields Academy. Her journey but now a high school student at a selective enrollment high school in Chicago that is “conventional,” Amelia notices some pretty amazing things her years at Gre...

Education Is Life [EP09] with Greenfields Alumni Student Amelia

There is a real difference between Greenfields Academy education & any other school, take it not from the adults, but from the perspectives of the students themselves! One of our founding Griffins, Amelia, shares with us what her experience was like as a student of 5 years at Chicago private school, Greenfields Academy. Her journey but now a high school student at a selective enrollment high school in Chicago that is “conventional,” Amelia notices some pretty amazing things her years at Gre...

Education Is Life [EP 08] with Guest Dr. Aditi Mehra on FIT Learning

Learning doesn’t always come easy for those who have been put up against multiple-choice or true/false questions. “I’m just rubbish,” was the self-talk of Dr. Aditi Mehra before she learned outside of the bounds of linear answers, pass/fail scores & standardized tests throughout her own learning experience. As a life-long learner, Dr. Aditi realized that it wasn’t just her- it was the way she was learning that held her back from excelling. She noticed the same for her son, Tristian, who was...

Education Is Life [EP08] with Guest Dr. Aditi Mehra on FIT Learning

Learning doesn’t always come easy for those who have been put up against multiple-choice or true/false questions. “I’m just rubbish,” was the self-talk of Dr. Aditi Mehra before she learned outside of the bounds of linear answers, pass/fail scores & standardized tests throughout her own learning experience. As a life-long learner, Dr. Aditi realized that it wasn’t just her- it was the way she was learning that held her back from excelling. She noticed the same for her son, Tristian, who was...

Education Is Life [EP 07] Parent Guest Scott Leonard

Scott Leonard Attorney at Law & parent of 9-year-old Greenfields Academy Griffin shares with us his perspective on being raised homeschooled, & what he is doing now to make the most out of the COVID 19 pandemic situation of "school at home." Scott's question to what is the role of education emphasizes all that makes us good people, not just good students.   For more information about Scott Leonard, please visit http://sleonardlaw.com/about/ & to sign up for an upcoming Info Sessio...

Education Is Life [EP07] Parent Guest Scott Leonard on Homeschooling vs. School at Home

Ep 06 | Guy P. Bell on "Who Are You?!" as the Question we should be asking more

Powerful Executives are Created by Asking Powerful Questions- with Guest Guy Pierce Bell When looking at who we are and what we are building, what is it the most important question or model we should be following? In this episode, Rob & Guy Pierce Bell share a powerful discussion around education as it relates to the workforce. “The Future of Work is the Future of Education,” says Guy who coaches executives to meet their business goals & has worked for decades as an executive himself. ...

Education Is Life [EP06] Guy P. Bell on "Who Are You?!"

Powerful Executives are Created by Asking Powerful Questions- with Guest Guy Pierce Bell When looking at who we are and what we are building, what is it the most important question or model we should be following? In this episode, Rob & Guy Pierce Bell share a powerful discussion around education as it relates to the workforce. “The Future of Work is the Future of Education,” says Guy who coaches executives to meet their business goals & has worked for decades as an executive himself. ...

Education Is Life [EP 06] Guy P. Bell on "Who Are You?!" as the Question we should be asking more

Powerful Executives are Created by Asking Powerful Questions- with Guest Guy Pierce Bell When looking at who we are and what we are building, what is it the most important question or model we should be following? In this episode, Rob & Guy Pierce Bell share a powerful discussion around education as it relates to the workforce. “The Future of Work is the Future of Education,” says Guy who coaches executives to meet their business goals & has worked for decades as an executive himself. ...

Education Is Life [EP05] COVID Stay at Home Reflections & Survey Results

This SPECIAL EDITION Episode reflects on the COVID-19 Pandemic School at Home orders & a survey our school sent out to the Chicago community of families both inside and outside of our community. With a variety of responses & reflections, we were able to tie back to the story of our founder, Rob Huge, and how things just weren't working with a homeschooling or traditional school model for his family - and how Greenfields Academy started! Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - cr...

Education Is Life [EP05] COVID19 Special

This SPECIAL EDITION Episode - we reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic & some of the lasting effects on our young people. Our school sent out a “School at Home” survey to the surrounding Chicago community of families both inside and outside of our school to find out what was working, & what wasn’t - and just to be there for our parents. With a variety of responses & reflections, we were able to tie back to the story of our founder, Rob Huge, and how things just weren't working when he tried h...

Education Is Life [EP04] K-12 Private Education: Building a Stronger Foundation

If we got our way - to make this new evolved type of learning the normal model of learning for public school systems for all, what does it look like exactly? We can point out everything that we’d change, but we still have to have a solution to support us in what we are trying to do and make it happen. Let’s start with accessibility: How can we create a tuition model that is affordable and available to the public while accomplishing what it needs to for our young people in terms of prepari...

Education Is Life [EP03] Parents: The Journey of Education is not just for the Students

Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - creating the focus away from what’s broken in the K-12 model and creating what we believe is a better way to “do school.” Creating a deeper learning experience, tap into the moral compass on what is important to the child, and get their learning to a “mastery” level for the subject matters they really love. No Homework. No Tests. No Teachers. No Standardized learning is what this school is all about. In this episode, we talk about the jou...

Education Is Life [EP02]- What's it like in the WILD?!

Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - creating the focus away from what’s broken in the K-12 model and creating what we believe is a better way to “do school.” Creating a deeper learning experience, tap into the moral compass on what is important to the child, and get their learning to a “mastery” level for the subject matters they really love. No Homework. No Tests. No Teachers. No Standardized learning is what this school is all about. This episode, we talk about caged TIGE...

Education Is Life [EP02]- Are your ready to live in the WILD?!

Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - creating the focus away from what’s broken in the K-12 model and creating what we believe is a better way to “do school.” Creating a deeper learning experience, tap into the moral compass on what is important to the child, and get their learning to a “mastery” level for the subject matters they really love. No Homework. No Tests. No Teachers. No Standardized learning is what this school is all about. This episode, we talk about caged TIGE...

Education Is Life (Episode 2) - What's it like in the WILD?!

Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - creating the focus away from what’s broken in the K-12 model and creating what we believe is a better way to “do school.” Creating a deeper learning experience, tap into the moral compass on what is important to the child, and get their learning to a “mastery” level for the subject matters they really love. No Homework. No Tests. No Teachers. No Standardized learning is what this school is all about. This episode, we talk about caged TIGE...

Education Is Life [EP01] - The Backstory

Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - creating the focus away from what’s broken in the K-12 model and creating what we believe is a better way to “do school.” Creating a deeper learning experience, tap into the moral compass on what is important to the child, and get their learning to a “mastery” level for the subject matters they really love. No Homework. No Tests. No Teachers. No Standardized learning is what this school is all about. This episode uncovers the “Backstory” ...

Education Is Life [Episode 1] - Introduction of Greenfields Academy

Greenfields Academy is revolutionizing education - creating the focus away from what’s broken in the K-12 model and creating what we believe is a better way to “do school.” Creating a deeper learning experience, tap into the moral compass on what is important to the child, and get their learning to a “mastery” level for the subject matters they really love. No Homework. No Tests. No Teachers. No Standardized learning is what this school is all about. This episode uncovers the “Backstory” ...