OCDSBXL Podcast (S2E6) - Part 2 - Learning is the Enterprise (with Jason Whiting)

In the midst of the most disruptive period in public education in recent memory, Jason Whiting chose two paths that stand out as exceptional: first, reflecting upon his practice he saw the urgency for more student agency; second, with a little support and a little inspiration, he was willing to try something entirely new: what if while learning grade 4 Math and Language his students could help even just one person?

It was a provocation both his students and he were willing to commit to. The result is Made2HelpOttawa - a social enterprise built and designed by 9-year-olds as the method and expression of learning; a business that focuses the learning on an audacious goal: helping others.

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In this episode of the XL Podcast,  part two of my conversation with Jason, we get a behind-the-scenes look at an all encompassing learning experience with a single goal: to help “just one person”. Along the way, Jason and his students discover that the idea of “investing” - in ourselves, in our peers, in others - is a phenomenal context for learning just about anything.

The thing is, when just about anything is the framework for learning, there is an abundance of learning at your fingertips. In the case of Made2HelpOttawa, these grade 4 students extend their reach well-beyond the walls of school, into the community and beyond, in an endeavour that travels lite, and ricochets like an echo so far beyond any curriculum expectations.

Made2HelpOttawa (Website)

Made2help Podcast

Made2HelpOttawa (Twitter) 

Jason Whiting (Twitter)