Assessing Skills Over Memorization

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The public school system has been damaging our children… but it doesn’t have to be this way.

In this conversation, I sit down with the founders of Infinity Academy, a project-based and nature-rooted school that was created after years of questioning the assumptions behind institutional education.

Gillian, the school’s Curriculum and Instructional Lead, spent more than a decade teaching in public education and repeatedly felt that something about the system wasn’t working. Her work now focuses on project-based learning designed to nurture curiosity, critical thinking, and intrinsic motivation in children.

Jenna, a Registered Nurse and wellness educator, co-founded the school after recognizing similar systemic problems in healthcare and education. Her work helps integrate nature, hands-on learning, and whole-person wellbeing into the educational experience.

Together, they’re building a model where learning follows the child’s interests through questioning, research, creation, and reflection. Their goal is to help children develop agency, curiosity, and the confidence to keep learning long after the classroom.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[03:40] How public school was designed to crush curiosity

[21:31] The grief, the infinity fountain, and the 30-day scramble to open Infinity Academy

[41:12] What is project-based learning, and what does it look like?

[43:11] Why community beats homeschooling, and what learning looks like at the Academy

[01:04:14] Teaching history without presenting it as an absolute truth

[01:25:49] Sex ed, gender ideology, and the topics deliberately left to parents

[01:48:48] Why "preparing kids for the real world" might be the wrong goal entirely

[01:56:41] Advice for the single mom trapped in the public school system

Learn more from Gillian and Jenna:

Infinity Education | Website

Infinity Education | Instagram

Infinity Academy | Website

Gillian Berard | Instagram

Find more from Alec:

Alec Zeck | Instagram

Alec Zeck | X

The Way Forward | Instagram

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