The A.W.E. Journal

by Barbara Manconi-Smith Co-founder of A.W.E. schools Something subtle — and deeply consequential — is happening in modern education. Performance is being demanded earlier and earlier. Earlier literacy benchmarks.Earlier STEM acceleration.Earlier standardized assessment.Earlier academic comparison. Five-year-olds are being evaluated.Six-year-olds are being ranked.Seven-year-olds are being told — implicitly or explicitly — whether they are “ahead” or “behind.” And while this m

by Barbara Manconi-Smith Co-founder of A.W.E. schools I will say something most educators won’t. The children we should be most concerned about are not the ones who struggle with reading or math. They are the ones who have been perfectly molded by a system designed for a world that no longer exists. The compliant.The performative.The optimized-for-grades child. Because in a world shaped by artificial intelligence, algorithms, and automation, the children who will thrive are n

by Barbara Manconi-Smith Co-founder of A.W.E. schools If you're searching for how to open a nature-based school  or how to start a forest school , you're not alone. Across the world, parents are leaving conventional education systems and seeking something different — something more human, more grounded, more future-ready. But here is what most people don’t tell you: Opening a forest school is not just about loving the outdoors.It ’s about building a methodology strong enough