Why Learning Is Happening Everywhere with Jenn Sutherland

Jenn Sutherland and Beyond School

I am joined by Jenn Sutherland, worldschooling mom, entrepreneur and CEO of Beyond School. In addition to homeschooling her own four children, from birth to university entrance while traveling the world, full time, for over a decade, Jenn has a degree in education and over 20 years experience in helping families build world class educations for their children outside the four walls of a classroom. Now the CEO of Beyond School, she’s focused on building a school of the future for families of the future and creating a third path in education, acknowledging that learning is happening everywhere.

What You’ll Find In This Episode

In this episode Jenn and I explore the meaning of why learning is not an occurrence that happens only in school, within a certain timeframe of life. We talk about why and how learning is happening everywhere and learning is happening always. And why it is up to us as parents to shift our perspective on how and where learning can happen and let go of the fact that we have to control and measure every form of learning. This conversation included;

Living A Life Of Adventure & Worldschooling

  • Living a life of adventure and worldschooling- How her family went from a year of travel in 2008 to a life of travel and why it was the best decision they ever made
  • The crash of 2008 and losing it all while on the road- How tragedy can be a catalyst to step back and re-evaluate what you really want out of life
  • Travel full time? What Jenn and her husband did to be able to travel full time and recreate their careers.

Learning & Homeschooling

  • Learning and homeschooling-Does having credentials make you a better homeschooler or is it a liability?
  • Prioritizing needs, wants and dreams. What is the difference between needs and wants? Who do you want to be in 1 year, 5 years? How do we make that happen for you?
  • The most valuable things to teach in homeschooling
  • “Everything I thought I knew about education from a classroom perspective had almost no bearing on getting the job done at home.”-What Jenn had to learn to let go of in homeschooling
  • Deschooling- unlearning and then re-learning
  • Shifts in in beliefs and perspectives

The Joy Of Teens

  • The shift in our view of teens that needs to happen in our world
  • Teenagers- why we need to start saying YES to their dreams
  • Trust, failure and raising capable children to become capable adults

School Of The Future- Beyond School

  • The ways that COVID has shifted education and perspectives in education
  • School of the future, Third Path education- why Beyond School began
  • Child centred, learner centred and unique to each individual
  • How Beyond School is cradle to grave learning over a lifetime, supporting young kids to adults

“Homeschooling is not about teaching your children from a top down management perspective. It’s about Celebrating the fact that learning is happening everywhere, learning is happening always and we are in it together. Everybody at a different stage.” Jenn Sutherland

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more about alternatives to traditional school, I suggest you also check out these episodes:

A Case For Self Directed Teens: Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids To School? with Blake Boles

Self Directed Learning– Blake Boles

Village Home Learning Community– with Lori Walker

Alternatives To School- SHINE Together Holistic Learning Center– with Mandy Spiczka

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Beyond School website- beyondschool.co

The Teenage Liberation Handbook– Grace Llewellyn

Not Back To School Camp

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