Jana Pappas received her Liberal Studies Bachelor Degree in 1998, then her teaching credential and Masters in Education in 2000. She was a former classroom teacher, leader of teacher education courses, tutor of students with language processing differences, and a homeschooler. Now, she is excited to be joining the Education Revolution by offering Acton Academy in her community.
Jana believes in student-led education, real-life experiences, guiding students to find a fire within them and to follow their curiosity wherever it may lead. She is educated in multi-sensory education, inquiry learning and the foundation of critical thinking – the Socratic Teaching Method.
Key Takeaways:
05 mins – Jana’s story, why she chose Acton, how her first application got rejected and what she did to get it right
29 mins – Her transition from being a traditional educator to a socratic guide
32 mins – Parents helped her call for adventure
35 mins- Describing her Acton Academy
26 mins – What are quests, what are the students quests
37 mins – Biggest obstacle/Setback
42 mins – How can you prove that you know something?
45:26 – Learning challenges in the learner-driven environment
53 mins – Her experience with adhd/ accommodations
57:44 – Tips for parents
59:14 – Recommended resources
Resources
Declarative Language by Linda Murphy
Disrupted Learning by Shannon Tipton
Courage to Grow by Laura Sandefer
Quotes:
“Acton Academy Concord is a place of joy, safety, growing, learning together, failing together, getting back up together.”
“To empower them (students) to get them out of these situations, to tell or to process it in a healthy way is more empowering than keeping them totally closed from it.”
For learners – “Go be a pioneer in your new world, because you’re the one who’s going to figure that out.”
“Nothing can stop you from knowing something that you want to know.”
“We empower our Eagles to swipe away and those dark places are not where you want to be.”
“There’s not really a failure ever. And you got back up, you took your time to feel your feelings and to recover and then to decide, what was your new strategy?”
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