HIHTK 021: Gordy Bal on Creating a Conscious School
Summary: What happens when a passionate entrepreneur experiences a spiritual awakening at the same time his kids are nearing school age? He creates a conscious school, of course.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Other ways to enjoy this Podcast<br> <br> <br> <a title="Listen on iTunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/honey-im-homeschooling-the-kids/id1272423047" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> <a title="Listen on Google Play" href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?t=Honey!_I%27m_Homeschooling_The_Kids&pcampaignid=MKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16&u=0&view=/ps/I2zvkou6ephyzybp2fc6f2ea3lm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> <a title="Listen on Stitcher" href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=147912&refid=stpr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Gordy Bal is one of those entrepreneurs you hear about in the news. You wonder how he can be involved in so many incredible projects. But entrepreneurs do entrepreneur things. But Gordy did something that might seem ‘off script,’ unless you got to know him and his personal journey.<br> He started a nature-based school he’d dreamed up after being exposed to a brilliant mind.<br> The Path of Purpose<br> After speaking with Gordy, I think I understand how he does it all. It comes back to purpose, that deep-seated sense that what you’re doing really matters. The most purposeful people I know wake up in the morning excited by the opportunity to work and live in this world they are creating. <br> I can’t speak for you, but for me this is the golden goose of alternative education. Regardless of the specific path, I believe this is what most alternative education families really want for their kids.<br> With a deep purpose, the practical concerns of academic education hardly matter. If you have a deep enough purpose, you’ll learn what you need to learn when you need to learn it. Without purpose, the greatest on-paper education in the world won’t save you.<br> There are few things less attractive than an over-educated Starbucks barista living a purposeless life. Meanwhile, plucky and “uneducated” entrepreneurs all over the world are getting things done and learning what they need when they need it.<br> The Xploration Centre<br> I brought Gordy Bal on the podcast because I heard about his school from my husband. It’s called the <a href="https://www.xplorationcentre.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Xploration Centre</a> and it has a unique vision, like a cross between a forest school and a technology-based school with some unique philosophical underpinnings. Gordy believes deeply in exponential technologies, but he also fears the current relationship most of us, kids especially, have with technology.<br> Meanwhile, we’re more and more cut off from nature. I share Gordy’s fear on that front. A child without any connection to nature is a very sad thing. But more than sad, it holds them back from living a full life. A week in nature is a cure for most ailments, and nature is the greatest (and only?) true teacher.<br> And beyond nature and exposure to exponential technologies, two other paradigms guide the school. Both stem from the teachings of <a href="https://drshefali.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr. Shefali Tsabary</a>, the world famous psychologist who writes on the topic of conscious parenting.<br> Dr. Shefali’s Influence<br> Gordy was exposed to Dr. Shefali’s after he became a parent. Her teachings resonated deeply with Gordy and his wife, so they reached out to meet Dr. Shefali. They would eventually become friends and she would remain influential in his life as he moved along his journey towards opening the Xploration Centre. So influential, that the school is founded on the principles she teaches.<br>
