Tracking Connections 24. Designing School for Connection —Paul Astin & Jenny Griffiths
“We’re in this time when the earth is activating this awakening, we’re part of the immune system of the earth. So then, what do the kids need to hear? Do they need to hear the battles of the Civil War, the names of the Egyptian pharaohs, the capitals of the States? Or do they need to hear that they’re magical beings, threaded to a living earth? That’s what they need to hear everyday from us adults, and we need to give them the evidence for that.”
This week, we are joined by Paul Astin and Jenny Griffiths, the co-founders of Manzanita School & Institute, a nature-based school in Southern California. Founded in 2014, Manzanita challenges educational paradigms and nurtures the whole child through its unique indoor-outdoor curriculum blending rigorous academics, land stewardship (including a working organic farm), and the study of local ecology on its 21-acre campus and the protected lands that surround it.
This is an incredibly inspiring conversation that you won't want to miss. Jon, Aidan, and Sarah were all moved to tears on multiple occasions. We discuss the genesis of the school, what they believe the role of teachers is in helping students at different stages, what the latest research says about the role nature connection plays in education, and how we help students create and reinforce an empowering narrative about themselves and the role they have to play as members of our society and stewards of the earth.
About Paul & Jenny
Dr. Paul Astin, Ed.D. and Jenny Griffiths, M.A., are longtime educators and Topangans who founded Manzanita in 2014 with the intention to create a new and meaningful alternative to the existing education system—one that honors the unique community and landscape of the Santa Monica Mountains, while preparing students to become independent thinkers and confident, embodied leaders in a rapidly changing world.
Dr. Paul has worked in education for over 30 years. He has been a teacher and administrator in both public and private schools, as well as the founder of a health-education nonprofit and a jazz pianist. He has a BA degree in Prehistoric Studies, a bilingual and bicultural teaching credential, an MA in Latin American Studies, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA, where his dissertation focusing on adolescent development and middle school reform won the Dissertation of the Year Award in the Educational Leadership Program.
Jenny has a master’s degree in Art Education and has taught art and organized community art events for more than two decades. She has also designed and delivered courses for mothers in building mother-daughter groups, a project supporting networks of mentors for adolescent girls. She now oversees the Seeds (K-2) early childhood program at Manzanita. Jenny has also received training in leading council and has been leading our parent council group at Manzanita since 2014.
They continue to be inspired and humbled by the Manzanita community, and their dedication to educating the next generation of thoughtful and effective leaders and creators.
Learn more about Manzanita School & Institute here
Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.