[Podcast Episode] Let's help the trailblazers defy the game of school, with Ana Lorena Fabrega

In this episode of the Homebrew School Builders Club, we're thrilled to host Ana Lorena Fabrega, a trailblazer in the realm of innovative education and Chief Evangelist at Synthesis. Fondly known as Mrs. Fab, Ana shares her unique perspectives on transforming traditional educational practices.

We dive deep into her book, discussing its practical applications and how it resonates with current educational challenges.

Ana's journey from a globe-trotting student to an educational innovator offers a wealth of insights into rekindling the natural curiosity and learning instinct in children. She stresses the importance of understanding real-world applications of knowledge and advocates for a learning environment that embraces uniqueness and immediate application of skills, drawing parallels with the engaging nature of video games.

Find out more and order Ana's book at: https://afabrega.com/

Quotes:

Embracing Uniqueness:
"The real world rewards people that are not conventionally minded, those that sort of like break from the pack and carve their own paths and create something different and legendary, right? And so somebody asked me recently, like, what's one thing that you would tell yourself, your younger self? And I was like, stop trying to fit in, right? Embrace that side of you that's different because that's the unique lens that is going to make you create wonderful things in the future, right? And not be like everybody else. And if you look at all the innovators that we admire and all the people that have quote unquote made it or that are doing wonderful things for humanity, these are all the troublemakers or the rebels or the, you know, those kids that were in school doing things a little bit differently. Why? Because it required like, in order to innovate, you have to be able to see things from a different perspective, right? In order to sort of like, yeah, go in a different direction."

Rethinking Learning Environments:

"Many times, when there's learning happening, it doesn't look like what we're used to, thinking, oh, you know, when you walk in a classroom and you see all the students quiet and, and, beautifully paying attention to the teacher and the teachers in the front and everyone's calm and you're like, wow, such a well-behaved classroom. Everyone's learning here. Congratulations. It's like, No. Most of the time, all those kids are daydreaming. They're playing the game of school, and there's not a lot of teaching and learning going on, so we need to be open to thinking, when you walk in a classroom and you see chaos and you see, things all over the place and students up and down and not at their seats and talking and moving and jumping and that's probably when they're learning, right?"