American School: Education to Overcome FEAR

In the 21st Century...FEAR Ruins People...

"ADIOS FEAR"

4 years of elections has taken its toll on this country. Last night...last week...last month (can't remember by now)…

Another election and still NO GOVERNMENT and NO CLEAR WINNER. It's the second election this year and the 4th election in 4 years. I guess elections are seasonal now in Spain?

Groundhogs Day

Spanish Elections and the movie Groundhogs Day have Something in Common

Confederacy of Dunces should be on everyone’s reading list to understand modern day politics, fake news, that inefficient blowhard at the office, and even the know-it-all parent in the WhatsApp group at your child’s school:

https://groveatlantic.com/book/a-confederacy-of-dunces/

You asked for it politicians...

Until we have formed a government in Spain, I plan to blog and highlight the ridiculousness of this entire situation. I plan to educate our leaders in the same way that we educate children. I think politicians are using permanent elections to buy time and avoid WORKING! IT is so much easier to grandstand and criticize than to actually solve problems (Ignatius J Reilly).

Kids Can teach us a thing or two...so maybe politicians should look to our children to learn a few LIFE lessons...

How to collaborate with people for the good of the community (watch and learn you overgrown children):

Working together is not always EASY but it is more FUN (click for this FUN on YouTube)

And our expert Heather can teach these "adults" how to manage emotions:

"Mind your own business…what do you know? You're not even from here!"

Which is precisely why I think someone should listen to ME. Sometimes an “outside” voice brings in new and creative solutions (SEE the whole DESIGN THINKING movement-which is simply Reggio Emilia for ADULTS)…

Here is what makes me qualified to have my opinions about Spain:

• I was born and educated in America which gives me perspective and the ability to compare
• I legally immigrated to Spain in 2001 so I have lived and worked here for 18 years. I actually learned Spanish and integrated myself into Spanish society pretty well
• I decided to do MORE to show my gratitude to this amazing country that has given me professional opportunities and a VERY blessed life
• I have parented my own children here for 12 years
• I have owned an American-minded company for the last 11 years. It was a startup and we never had cool SEED FUNDING or FINANCING ROUNDS (ok that IS a really dumb idea) like Uber or We Work (ok never mind, maybe it is better to learn how to live within our means) and we never had anyone to follow because our company has so many moving parts so I have literally made EVERY mistake humanly possible. And yet English for Fun and I are still here with 2 schools and 13 areas of business (meeting the needs of infants-adults) and 30+ dedicated and hard-working employees. Over 5,000 children have walked through our doors to learn and have FUN in English. So there must be something magical that we offer that you cannot find elsewhere. I suspect that it is the insanely high English language levels (English for real LIFE) and that is because we are a community that truly respects children. The ECOSYSTEM WORKS! 

Hub Dot Madrid - Entrepreneurship - Jill Stribling

Human Development for Fun and the "F" Word

Studying human development has become a bit of a hobby for me. I am always questioning NO and asking WHY…to the dislike of many! I have learned that the biggest motivator, worldwide, is FEAR. Yet some of us function better than others when we are afraid and that has to do with how we were prepared, early on, to handle FEAR. Our resilience is 100% based on our preparation…and how we learn to believe in ourselves.

And we can only learn resilience through good old fashion FAILURE:

Don't "FLIP" out, Cloe will be OK! She had something we call GRIT

What a metaphor for LIFE! Once again, children remind us how to behave in adulthood.  No worries...Cloe is met with care immediately:

And FEAR does NOT hold her back:

How we get ourselves out of FEARful situations has everything to do with our belief that we CAN and WILL be OK. Learning to fight is an important life skill and if we do not practice it in childhood by learning how to take care of ourselves, it is hard to be prepared for adulthood.

My goal is to eliminate FEAR to prepare US all for the 21st century. I believe that quality 0-6 education is a FEAR shield.

VOTE…American Education for President

Choose American Education to Shield You from FEARful Politicians

We need to evolve education into a system of equality, one that can only happen by educating in the American way (not Trump America but the good old fundamentals of what America represents):

• Empowering others to feel competent and understand that competition is a good thing when it helps us challenge ourselves and grow
• Building communities who take CARE of each other and have empathy and feel truly compassionate about causes
• Learning to be a competitive and adaptable workforce 
• Practical systems that are organized and predictable and yet encourage risk-taking behavior
• Creativity sparks curiosity and that is fundamental to the learning process and it means that learning will be something you love
• Confidence, especially public speaking, makes it that much easier to convince the rest that we know it all…even when we don’t!
  

Why is American Education Superior?

It is simple…we are competitive and curious by nature. It is in our history. Those who did not want to conform to British rule (or Spanish, etc.) left their countries to get to the land of opportunity, creating a melting pot of cultures.

With that drive, and that pressure to succeed (proving to families back home that immigration was worth it), the country is always influencing and adapting to changes. How do you think we became a superpower in the first place?

Did we really land on the moon first? Does it matter? It worked!

That confidence and trusting our instinctual intelligence is what keeps us moving forward.

The current American president and the past American president are both stories of people we NEVER THOUGHT would win. They prove that in a country like American, you can do anything that you put your mind to!

Thanks to that competition, educational research is heavily funded in the U.S. and the CONTINUOUS LEARNING we do as educators plays a key role in the innovation and the adaptation that you find in America. WE pay WAY too much for our university education, but then the system requires that we get our $$$ worth. The financial entitlement allows us to have high expectations and we have to constantly innovate based on the research. The newest theories are invented to correct errors in the system…full circle and adapting fast. No one is complacent with the status quo because we are alway naturally wanting MORE. I’m not saying that it is right, I’m just saying that the rest of the world can benefit from what this competition has to offer!

This is one of the MANY reasons why I choose American education for my own children, even though we live in Spain. 

Compliance in American Education

American education in hard to do and that is why it is harder to find than British education. And it is why WE educate the American way at English for Fun (U.S.A. NECPA Accredited School). We also comply with the standards of the NAEYC which is the most recognized early childhood organization worldwide.

The British,  "cookie-cutter" accreditation systems make it a lot easier to follow and implement but harder to individualize for a child and a culture.

And the British are savvy because they pick and choose the best practices that they use:

• How many British schools have you visited that follow Spanish student to teacher ratios? And there are No CLEAR Guidelines (Alarming) there either.
• And the mid-term breaks that are not common in Spain mean that you have to adapt your calendar to the British way? (1-2 weeks per trimester plus Spanish Holidays-Fun for teachers, NOT FUN for parents) 

American Schools Worldwide = 197  British School Worldwide = 2,200

The American schools were built originally to offer quality education to its citizens living abroad (Expat schools). They are built on the details, quality and high expectations that you would expect to find in America. Historically, British schools were found throughout the world to instill their values in their colonies. And colonization has to be standardized or else it is impossible to manage! The British schools are commonly in areas with a population willing to follow. I admire the British. When they find a receptive population to SAVE or Conquer, they can overpopulate it with English regulations and testing systems and sell their examination preparation courses. They are brilliant masterminds at selling superiority and convincing the locals that their system is needed! That works well in countries with low-quality education. It is great for school owners with limited knowledge about education. But it is not the best model if you are a HUMAN and you want your children to be confident and well-prepared for whatever may come in the 21st century. 

RECAP:

It is harder to comply with American standards? YES 

Is it is MUCH HARDER to find a larger and legal staff that understands how to educate in an American way and meet the proper degree requirements? YES 

Is student learning better if the demands of the United States give an example for others to follow? ... SIGN US UP (Madrid)! SIGN US UP (Pozuelo)!

KEY FACTOR: AMERICAN EDUCATION Student to Teacher Ratios

Children need respectful spaces where they can learn in a group and grow. Students need the support of trained and qualified educators in classrooms that have low student to teacher ratios. Schools accredited in the U.S have guidelines to follow in order to meet the needs of children and learning. These standards, called Best Practices, are research-based and we are required to strictly follow them. The standards cover all necessary policies in order to operate a school that is safe and stimulating for children. Best Practices cover health and hygiene, safety and facilities, curriculum and planning, educator qualifications and overall operations. Most importantly, they give guidelines on how many children can fit in classrooms/outdoors SAFELY and how many students should be in the care of each teacher in order to successfully meet each child's needs and they depend on the child’s months of birth. Here is a comparison of what is happening in American Classrooms and what is happening in Spain: 

English for Fun for President.

Our "political" platform is 100% about overcoming FEAR to SURVIVE Midorexic adults throughout the world!

Here is why English for Fun students will be gifted politicians, business owners, lawyers, actors or whatever they darn well please:

• They are socially and emotionally happy and that will last a lifetime no matter what society or their parents do to them
  
• They are independent thinkers so they will not be influenced by special interests
  
• They are confident and they can do public speaking in English and Spanish (and French, German, Arabic, Chinese and whatever other language they decide to take on) so they can negotiate and feel comfortable having a conversation in a second language with international people
  
• They are global because they have been going to school since birth, with diversity in their safe space so they have all types of friends, from all types of families and from all over the world (16 countries at each center)
  
• They are empowered so they feel secure in their decision making
  
• They are collaborative so teamwork is not scary for them and sharing ideas is how they all work together to improve the lives of themselves and others
  
• They are curious and have a Growth Mindset so they will never want to stop learning and that leads to a happy brain

Bring Out the American in us ALL!

As Americans, we have a lot of pressure to lead. It goes with being a superpower. But how do you think that superpower status was built? You guessed it…it was built by an educational system that has driven us to work efficiently and succeed under pressure! The US ONLY brings this confidence and innovation and a competitive drive because of the foundation of our education system! And our families have the advantage of getting the best curriculum for their children, taught in the most important language for business (English).