Samantha Jansky joined Acton Academy as a Socratic guide in 2012, just a few years after its inception. Leading the Elementary school for 4 years, Samantha created systems that fur-ther empowered young heroes in a truly learner-driven environment. She then moved on to specializing in Learning Design Creation (curriculum) and wrote and published the entire Elementary School Learning Design used by the world-wide Acton network of over 100 schools.

Samantha’s ultimate goal has always been to serve others and she has done so in the public, private, and non-profit spheres. She raised over $3 million to build primary and vocational schools in Haiti, ran a local campaign in Colorado, and was on the ground level of a health and wellness start-up in Santa Monica.

Samantha graduated with honors in International Relations from the University of Denver and studied French and political science at L’institut d’Etudes Politiques (ScienePo) in Rennes, France. As a new mother, Samantha looks forward to rediscovering the wonders of the world through her daughter’s eyes and building a world-changing learning community working side by side with her long-time colleague and close friend, Janita Lavani.

Key Takeaways:

00:18 Samantha’s Favorite Thing about Young Learners

01:33 The Origin Story of Samantha and Acton Academy

08:12 What is more important Mindset or Preparation?

09:52 Role of Parents on the Kid’s Journey

17:31 What does Samantha feel about COVID and the pressure on their local area?

20:20 Strategies for Hands-on Learning at Home

24:12 Tips to Empower Parents to Think Out of the Norm

29:20 Three Words to Describe Ascent Acton Academy

34:28 Metaphor on Conventional versus Alternative Learning

Quotes:

"I think the hardest place for parents to step back is social struggle."

"A lot of the times we end up projecting from our own experiences from childhood. There's a lot of fear around. How your child will be impacted emotionally from a social interaction gone wrong or however we perceive it. And, I think some of the most powerful learning experiences are when parents talk through those, they don't ignore them."

"This kind of play encourages so much creative thought and innovation. It requires collaboration. It forces really important conflict resolution to happen in a very natural way."

"(On alternative education) I think less about what would be lost if you did it, more would be lost if you didn't do it?"

Social Links:

Samantha Jansky LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-jansky-38578611/

Ascent Acton Academy:Website - https://ascentacton.org/

Instagram - https://instagram.com/ascentacton

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