Union School

 

Show Transcript

alright so I'm out all day I'm here with Elliot washer he's actually the co-founder of the picture and I figured you know since he stopped by to interview me know and see you know tell me about yourself well first it's a pleasure to be here I've been in the school for a few hours and an ambassador took me around and I met with a lot of students and we had a great chat about things that they're interested in my day like the school and why they came here so it's been a pleasure to be here at the first thing and so thank you all for having me now tell you a little bit about me well I was born in Brooklyn New York and the reason why I do the work that I do is because for some reason very very early on in my life I recognize people are smart and young people smart and all kinds of different ways and that school was not the place where myself and most of my friends were smart and I figured that out why but everytime I was outside of school I thought I was smart and once I got into school I didn't think it was very smart because basically they told me I wasn't and until that led really on a quest to learn things more outside of school then inside a school and I'm when I did understand things and brought them into the school my teachers would always go how do you know that how'd you learn that where that come from I said well I went to a museum or I went to a library I went to a park and I was with adults too I really liked an older students and my peers and we will learn and stuff and I sometimes figure things out and also listen and read and wrote and made things I was big make or I could make a lot of take apart things and put them back together and most of the time I was better at taking them apart and put them back together I think we are in the Senate good night cuz I have I've been there especially with you know when I was in the Traditional School was not the best student I I can't handle sitting in the classroom with 30 people you know listening to somebody talk and then I got to like shop classes and those I enjoyed but definitely not a not a standard School person that's why I'm here that's right and so I a lot of different kinds of work and as I was going to college and after college I was in Commercial Refrigeration I did workers Carpenter drove a truck and took care of a cadaver's in a laboratory from attic students and went back to school and and really decided that I was going to do something real real different for each and every young person and I kept on learning about how to do and I kept on always saying the answer is out side and bringing the outside learning back inside of school so my buddy and I dentist that key or I met when I was 19 and he was 26 and we've been doing this kind of work ever since then getting schools better and better and better and better rating them from three-year-olds to now we have our own College where we say what are you interested in what's your passion how do you get connected to people who could we want to learn from and how do you really learn how to practice very seriously on the things you want to get better at and then from there you learn the things so schools are what we call a mile wide and inch deep like they just turn the page and cover stuff and we said as you really go deep around something you brought not learn many things and that's what's important so now we have a couple hundred schools around the world and are starting to have some really good influence with States and districts people are listening to what we have to say so that's what I've been doing for the last 46 years of my life sounds like it's been all over the place from here to there that they're just setting up the schools and I guess is really what we needed as you know Community from even here and you know in Nampa to all over the place I think a system like this with this generation really works well his a lot of this generation were less of you know looking lecture people we need to build you know grab a hold of it you know whatever we want to learn and you know see if that's where we want to go cuz that's how I know I am revived if I want you know do something I want to grab a hold of it go for it and see what it really is before I you know sit down with it that's right now I like how you said grab cuz grab is a good thing grasping precedes language in unless you can grab onto something really get your arms around it talk to talk about it and that's where the stories come after you've done something not before you have nothing to say unless you did something and you work with other people and you learn from them and oh my gosh I got to get better at this and this and this and self assessing yourself and then listening to people who you respect also giving you feedback and assessment that's what it's all about being able to do it and go okay what can I improve on instead of just going okay I can't do that that's right I have definite experience in that cuz I I came to the school and then at the end of last year kind of thought you know I just want to work on bikes and did an internship and was working with their by Parks decided it's not really what I want to do and then was working with our LTI coordinator cat and got handed a camera at one of our in school events and I was like I kind of like photography I like the idea and you know I grabbed the hold of the camera and was able to capture these moments these feelings you know the looks on people's faces cuz it was a have a talent show and you know people being excited while singing seeing everybody you know singing along with them to get this good expression on their face like they're really in the moment and I'm able to capture that moment so I kind of took me going I like photography let's grab a hold of a camera in Just Go With It now it's kind of what I sent heard my life on I mean I have a couple shoots that I'm setting up with some people for their senior photos I have a video that's going up on our YouTube channel where this podcast is going to be located as well along with there's some other work out there going on Channel cuz it's really weird we just decided one day like we want to build a studio we all kind of got together and we're like what's let's actually do this and me and Aaron were a lot of like one of my models that I got from him directly just touch it once come up with a project come up with an idea to grab a hold of it and just do it that's what I was kind of what we've been doing wonderful we're slowly getting there we got like her for actual piece of equipment me and Aaron dinner unboxing video that's up on our Channel now as of today and we got okayed for grant money for our studio we're just waiting for all that to Paul in line so really it it took us a couple weeks to get there but we we held onto this project tight and just went for it and it's really working out for us that's kind of part of why I like the system weave Young size of built is it allows me to go okay let's try this because I'm a very I'm very open person when I want to you know I want to learn about this one learn about that I'll go and do it versus traditional schools I want to learn about this no you're going to sit here and take this test that's it is what it is right. It's doesn't feel there's no feel to it it's just it's just learn this and you know people like me and you know other people even just in the school it's like yo here learn this math or you know to learn this part of history and you're gone by why do I need to know how to solve a 12-step calculus equation When I'm Gone into photography you know school system like this you learn what you want to learn and need to learn that goes with you know what you want to do and there's a lot to learn and it's very difficult to get good at no matter what that is and tell you that I couldn't agree more with you around what you're saying and how you're talkin about the school that's exactly what we were trying to get at with all students in all their interest connecting them to people who really are good at stuff and that they want to learn from so all that's great well I'm really happy to talk with you about this see how I took you that you are and passionate you are around Mickey Lisa things happen in your life all great all great I'm excited alright since or running short on time so I'm working kind of here I think you know podcast with me is disappear actually our first podcast this is a project I wanted to take on so thanks for having a great interviewer and I enjoyed being here and I'm going to enjoy the rest of my day so thanks a lot