What happens when you take a school and remove all but three adults? You get Acton Academy.

Laura Sandefer, co-founder of the Acton Academy school network and author of Courage to Grow, is an academic entrepreneur who believes that children need to be empowered to make mistakes, fail, grow, and improve on their own.

Sandefer works to enable other parents to establish new Acton Academies to serve the educational needs of their families and local communities. Acton Academy is a radical model of schooling that puts as much power as possible directly into the hands of students, giving them the opportunity to take ownership of their choices and capabilities from an early age.

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Acton Academy: https://www.actonacademy.org/

Parent Resources from Acton Academy: https://www.actonacademyparents.com/

Laura Sandefer's book, Courage to Grow: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0999520555/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3

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Outline:

[00:00] Intro

[2:26] The learning philosophy of Acton Academy

[9:24] Socrates, Montessori, and the hero’s journey

[14:27] Curiosity is everything in education

[21:03] Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset

[25:06] The day-to-day structure of Acton Academy

[43:47] Experiential learning

[51:27] Motivating and measuring student achievement

[58:23] Student leadership is a positive feedback loop

[1:02:18] How Acton Academy encourages family engagement

[1:07:07] Pushing back on the assumption of college

[1:13:03] Getting involved with Acton Academy

[1:23:01] Outro

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Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VzQDNEOLPWg

Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?

Visit our website: https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/

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Dad Saves America is a channel dedicated to celebrating heroic fatherhood while teaching the next generation of fathers strategies they can utilize in parenting their children. We believe strong children come from a strong family. We’ve had many experts in the studio, including Jonathan Haidt, Mike Yates, Lenore Skenazy, Warren Farrell, Matt Ridley, Martin Gurri, and Michael Strong.