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Connect Canyons
Learning is about making connections, and we invite you to learn and connect with us. Connect Canyons is a show about what we teach in Canyons District, how we teach, and why. We get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great: students, teachers, principals, parents, and more. We meet national experts, too. And we spotlight the “connection makers” — personalities, programs and prospects — we find compelling and inspiring.
Connect Canyons
Albion Middle Community Unites Through Shared Reading of a Single Book
We all know reading is fundamental to learning. But did you know it also reduces stress? Or that it can help you sleep better, keep your mind sharp, and improve your relationships?
Imagine, then, the benefits of an entire school community reading together, from every student and teacher to the custodians, Main Office staff, and principals — even the parents.
“I’ve never had such an immersive experience,” said Daniel Nayeri whose Newbery Honor-winning novel, “The Many Assassinations of Samir, Seller of Dreams” was the subject of an all-community read experiment at Albion Middle School. “To have the opportunity to speak with the students personally and work with them…I’m really thankful for that.”
Albion’s schoolwide book club was the brainchild of English teachers Stephanie Nasser and Stephanie Kourianos. They encountered Nayeri at a summer conference, and after listening to him talk about his tale of a young monk’s journey along the Silk Road, they knew they had found the right author and book to see their vision through.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by Canyons School District. This is a show about what we teach, how we teach and why we get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more. We meet national experts too. Learning is about making connections, so connect with us.
Speaker 3:Wouldn't it be nice if love was all around us? That's just one of the thought-provoking questions in Daniel Nayeri's book the Many Assassinations of Samir the Seller of Dreams. Nayeri is an award-winning author of more than a dozen books. Welcome to Connect Canyons. I'm your host, frances Cook. So why are we talking about this nationally renowned author? Well, that's because he's here with us today. Welcome, thanks for having me. How Mr Nayeri's visit to Canyon School District came about is thanks to two teachers from Albion Middle School, stephanie Corianis and Stephanie Nassar. They are also joining us today, along with Albion principal Eric Gardner. Thank you all for being here. Now I'd like to start with our teachers. Tell us about your idea and how this visit came about. Tell us about your idea and how this visit came about and it's not just a quick visit to a classroom with a little reading of an excerpt you took this to a whole new level.
Speaker 4:The goal of this project was to unleash the power of one shared text, and that's kind of our jumping off point for this. So we went to NCTE way back in November of 2023, and we realized that Daniel Nayari was going to be at the conference and we made sure that we were going to be there because we both loved his book Everything Sad is Untrue and we were kind of fangirled about that story and said we have to go, we have to meet him. So we came with our books ready to sign and he was there on a panel talking about his new book, the Many Assassinations of Samir. And at that point, after he spoke, Stephanie Nassar turned to me and she said we're going to have Daniel Nahari come to our school and we are going to have every grade read this story, and that's going to have Daniel Nehari come to our school and we're going to have every grade read this story, and that's going to happen. And I was like, all right, you got this. Yes, let's do this.
Speaker 5:so to add to what Stephanie is saying, we also went to see sessions about how to do an all-community read at a school, and as we were sitting there, what dawned on us was the power of empathy and teaching middle schoolers what it is to be empathetic towards another person.
Speaker 5:And in today's culture it's such an important skill to teach and for students to learn, and you can't just teach at them, you have to teach it with them. And so we came back and sat down with our principal and said we need to do this and this is how we need to do this, and we need to immerse an author with our students on a very personal level where he can talk with them, he can do some of the great elective classes with them. And Mr Gardner's response was this is great, where are we going to get the money? So from there, I, being on school community council, had to pitch it to them and they were on board right away. They were passionate about creating reading as being a focal point for the entire school around the text. Skip ahead a year.
Speaker 5:And I said to to Stephanie we have to get money like this. We it's not just about the fees to bring in an author, it's about resources to create art and music and cooking and everything that we want to go with it, the ordering of 300 plus books and the you all of that. So we went after a couple of grants. Our first grant that we were awarded was Voya, which is Voya Unsung Heroes, where we got $2,000. And then the next one was the Canyons and Foundation, where we were very generously awarded $8,000. And so we were able then to take all those funds. We were very generously awarded $8,000. And so we were able then to take all those funds and give them back to Mr Gardner to be able to use to cover anything and everything around this visit.
Speaker 3:We also got donors' shoes and we did.
Speaker 6:yes, yeah, we got donors' shoes for a whole set of books.
Speaker 3:You guys went to town. Yeah, we got a donor to choose for a whole set of books. You guys went to town. You know it's such a great idea of having it go beyond just a single classroom reading something. I want to come back to that. But you talked about empathy. Daniel, I'd like to bring you back in and let's talk about how you came up with the idea for Samir's story and his little monkey, and you know it's it for me. It was a very interesting way of learning empathy.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, um. For me it was a very interesting way of learning empathy, but for a slightly different reason. I um, the book I'd written written previous to that was a book called everything sad is untrue, and it was about my coming to the United States with my mother. My father had stayed back in Iran, and so in a lot of ways it's about the strength that my mom sort of shows and she's kind of the hero of that story and everyone sort of said, wow, that's like a love letter to your mom. And I said, yeah, you know, that's that is what my early childhood looked like. But then there was this little seed planted where I was like what would it look like if I was writing something for? And about my dad trying to explain my dad to people. And that is something that was particularly challenging for me because he's always sort of just been a voice on the phone, and so as I started to think more about him, it started to take on a bit more of a fictional character as well. I was having to sort of fill in some gaps, and so I called my agent and I said, okay, and she's like, well, you know, what have you got next? And I said you know an 11th century Silk Road comedy in ancient Uzbekistan. And, um, she didn't hang up, so thank goodness. But I, uh, I got to write that story and it does.
Speaker 2:It is about someone who you know, for me represents my father's personality a lot, but the rest isn't exactly the same. It's it's a poorly huckster. He's this merchant who goes from village to village swindling people, and and his assistant, um, who he calls monkey, cause he used to be a monk, and and monkey is telling you the story. He's telling you that my master is an unserious man. He I don't like him very much at all.
Speaker 2:Monkey is a very religious and devout young boy, and so he thinks that his master's a liar and he thinks he sort of deserves it when they find out that each of the villages that this man has swindled have gotten pretty upset and they've each hired a different assassin to come and kill him. And so he says you know, I, even though he doesn't deserve it, even though you know my master is a um, is a con artist and a huckster I had to save his life six times and, would you believe it, he still didn't free me. And he said and so this is, of course, the witness of Monkey, because he tells you at the front that he was the seventh and the successful assassin. And so from there you're sort of thrown into the story of how Monkey and Samir kind of come to be at first, this odd pairing who end up becoming not only friends but family and, you know, gain this incredible relationship where they each sort of bring something to teach to the other person.
Speaker 3:I thought you did a wonderful job of kind of that foresight but also throwing you for a loop. You know, the very first chapter is the first time I was ever stoned to death and you go, wait what you can do that twice. I didn't know that was a thing. But I will say every time I see the word nonsense now I hear it in the narrator's voice Nonsense.
Speaker 1:Samir says nonsense all the time.
Speaker 3:So it's this wonderful weaving and, as teachers, I love how, then, you took that and you turn it into so many different lessons. So, for the last two days, your entire school, your entire community has spent learning with this book as the pillar of everything you've been able to achieve. Walk me through how the last couple days have gone for all of you.
Speaker 4:It's been fantastic in so many ways. One thing we read the book and we listened to it on audio and so we were listening. Daniel narrates the book and so the kids have been listening to Daniel you know his voice for weeks and then to finally see his face and to hear him, I think was a pretty cool thing for all of the kids. They really have been so excited for his visit. They had all sorts of questions. You know, and I would say you should ask that when he is at our school, and so we really built up this. You know, and I would say you should ask that when he is at our school, and so we really built up this. You know excitement around him coming to our school to finally have it, be here and have the kids be so sweet and so many kids wanted their books signed and it was really nice to see all of our planning and everything that we have been talking about for the last 18 months kind of come to fruition.
Speaker 5:So one of the things that happened the second time we were with Daniel was he shared a snack with us. It was dates that we knew before then that his prior career was a pastry chef.
Speaker 3:A professional pastry chef.
Speaker 5:Like my mind is blown at the amount of things on your resume just so you know, like we learned that story today and it's a fascinating story, but um, side note so he shared this snack and so that kind of sparked this whole wait. We can go outside of English and we can bring in all these other courses and classes and electives that happen, and so Daniel made his snack that he makes all the time at home with our FAC students. Our art students wanted to put together a batik based on the story, which all 700, they all touched it right. And the music department did this huge project based on the novel, where they their culmination was coming together to play, but they also individually created these projects. Science looked at the wind with the sand and how it affects people if you're walking on it. You know the discovery of the number zero, yeah, which is another really big deal. And all the way to our STEM class, which is they did woodshop, and Daniel got to create a phone stand today right, although the student Lila was mostly guiding my hand.
Speaker 2:There's some very very patient students in that class. But, yeah, I got to do everything. I've never gotten to do that before. I've never had such an immersive experience where I feel like in two days I got to go into every part of the school. Right, I've never gotten to go. I've always wanted to. I always ask but I never thought I would. I've always wanted to. I always ask but I never thought I would get the opportunity and to have Stephanie and Stephanie both kind of not only get behind it but allow it it's almost always shut down because I've been asking for years.
Speaker 2:But now, you know, in the last few days, you know, we got to go and cook with the students and I got to tell them about the Silk Road snack. We got to go and cook with the students and I got to tell them about the Silk Road snack. And I was in a wood shop, we were in art classes, there was pottery it was just a blur and of course we got to talk to the students who really want to be writers and, you know, pull up our sleeves, talk, shop about their writing and their response. And to me, the whole of it has been this really incredible spirit that I'm not used to right. What happens sometimes and every visit is beautiful in its own way, but often what happens with visits is you know you'll come in and people have already read your work right, and so the energy is sort of always you come in and they're reacting to that work, and so the energy is always sort of pointed toward you and that's lovely and it it's nice. But you know, the highest achievement that any artist can have right, the highest achievement any writer can have, is to be like an inspiration to other people to make things right. The compliments are nice, the compliments are I'm not allergic to compliments, but but if you know to be an epigraph in someone else's novel, that quite literally is saying you've inspired a piece of this work To be someone that other artists look to as someone who sparked their imagination and to have these last two days be that across every topic.
Speaker 2:Now the science students are making things and the art students are making pottery and the the cooking students are making food. They're all making their own thing and the writers got to share their work right. That is a very powerful thing, because now the energy gets to be not only sort of more, sort of, you know, balanced, but now I can react to their work. I can say, wow, I just read your work and I really like this little line here and I thought this was great and I'd love to see more of this. And that is exactly the way I would love to interact, because one, it is, the highest honor you can have is that this in some way was sparked by something you wrote.
Speaker 2:But also, you get to be the thing that I was first, which is I get to be a reader, I get to be an eater. I get to be the thing that I was first, which is I get to be a reader. I get to be an eater, I get to be a student. I get to be, you know, somebody who reacts to art in front of me. And this school, you know, has been, you know, albion Middle, has been wall to wall, covered in, you know, the projects of these students from, like you know, comparisons of the Silk Road travel networks to the Great Westward Migration travel networks, like Utah studies.
Speaker 2:And then you know, but you also have, you know, spiral pottery from art class and felting in you know a different class and and of course the English department, doing all kinds of deep dives into the lyricism of certain sections of the text or the history. Of course there's so much to react to and it's all over the walls. You just get to walk in and see it.
Speaker 3:So that's been a delight. I imagine it's got to be so different for you as an author to come into a situation like that, where there's something new for everyone. Eric, how have you seen students reacting and teachers reacting to this group project, as it were?
Speaker 6:I would say it was almost like a giant snowball that picked up steam. As we first pitched it out there to the staff, you know you had some people jump on board instantly and then there were others that were a little skeptical. But it was interesting. As we've done things as a we, the whole idea of that book is community At least that was a big takeaway that I took from it and so.
Speaker 6:But as we've done stuff as a staff, like we had a paint night a few weeks ago and like to watch everybody come together, teacher wise, teacher wise and then all of a sudden everyone those who were even hesitant to maybe participate at first, they're the ones coming up with the projects and putting the displays on Like I've just loved it. And then the thing that one thing that I've just loved from this is we've been able to reach every kid from a broad level, like at today's assembly. And then the one that I love the most is yesterday's writer's workshop, where to sit in front of a Newbery award winner and to have them actually read your story, and not just read it but give specific feedback about it. I mean, I remember nuclear fallout or darkness.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and he knew the character's names it was like Mikal, something I can't pronounce it Anyways but it was touching, it was getting to me, so I left because I was starting to tear up and I was just, I mean, what kid really gets that experience? And so I love this whole thing that it's brought us all together, both staff and students, and it's given everyone in the school an opportunity that I would say most kids don't typically get.
Speaker 3:I loved hearing your favorite part about it, and you're right. I mean, I think most writers or anyone who's aspiring to be something right you don't always get that level of somebody sitting down who knows what they're doing and being able to come to you and say, yeah, this part's great, or you know you need to work on that, so that's, that's really special. I'd love to hear your other favorite parts from the last two days. To the three of you the two Stephanies and Daniel is there one, a highlight that just sticks with you, or is it all?
Speaker 5:still sinking in. I would say, for me, one of the most highlights was yesterday. We we gave out passes to anybody who wanted to get you know a book signed, a piece of paper signed like we didn't care. Right, and the line was out the door of the library. And Daniel, when he signs his book every depending on which book he's signing he has a specific illustration that he uses.
Speaker 5:And Stephanie the other Stephanie was walking the line writing the names down because we learned quickly how we have to do this, and I was sitting next to him and I kept going we're not going to get through the line. We're not going to get through the line, like I feel really bad. He's like just, it's okay. It's okay Cause he's drawing a picture, but he made every student feel seen and every student feel heard. And in that short interchange, those students walked away with the feeling of, yeah, this is a Newbery Award honoree winner, but he's a person just like you, just like me, and that he that maybe I can do this too because I'm a person too.
Speaker 5:And I think, like going into the different classrooms, whether they he was just answering questions, or today we played a game with characters.
Speaker 5:It was so much fun in creative writing, which was a blast. But every student, from your resource special ed kid all the way up to your accelerated kid, was able to be touched by this experience. He did go into a resource class yesterday. He did sit on the floor and do a fireside chat with a resource English class and those kids they're all boys, right, there were all boys in there except for one student, and you could tell that these boys don't read, they struggle, and yet they resonated with the humanity that Daniel represents and I, and that's a big deal. That's a big deal. So, like Eric said, it's so important that broad spectrum we all got together in the auditorium. Steph disagree, like he's probably touched six, 700 students individually without realizing that that vast number, you know, spent time with him and got to have a moment with him, to the point where he remembers names, by the way, which is obscene because it takes teachers so many weeks to learn their students' names.
Speaker 3:That beautiful stephanie k. How about you?
Speaker 4:I think a couple moments that will stick with me is one uh, yesterday, the writer's workshop, the first, the first kid to get feedback on his writing, was sitting in the front and I watched his little face. Just, he, just he was getting feedback from a real author that was published in his awards. Yeah, and he just was. I had, I took a little picture of his, of his face, because it just he couldn't get enough of it and I thought that is something special that you know he'll remember forever. And a lot of the kids felt the same. They reacted the same way.
Speaker 4:I also loved yesterday when we went into the orchestra. When we went into, they played some songs and after they played their songs they talked about how the song connected to the feelings of the story. And hearing them make these connections that were so deep and thoughtful and you know they. Really for me it was like they understood our goal. You know they're doing it, they're getting it, and so that was a really yeah, without telling them they were getting it. So that was a really special time for me to see that.
Speaker 3:That's got to be fulfilling, as educators, to you know, set this goal I mean, the two of you have been working on this for a year and a half now and to have it finally happen and then see, yes, that that aha moment, they got it. That's beautiful, Daniel. What's what's been your biggest takeaway?
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, it's, it's been amazing. I you know I have two. I have two the first. The first one is I'm going to. I'm going to tell you the story of meeting, meeting the two Stephanies from my perspective. I came down, I I was as these conferences are really, you know, full of people and all kinds of things and it's really they can be very um sort of they can just be kind of a blur of people and faces and whatnot, and I was sitting in this, uh, hotel lobby waiting for, waiting for someone, and I was, I was gonna doing some, just writing, and I hear from across the way and I'm not a particularly what's the right word, like I'm a pretty introverted person, like I'm pretty shy, I guess is the right word and so I just hear my name, that feeling a shy person gets when they're like oh my gosh, I've been made into a public spectacle.
Speaker 1:What's?
Speaker 2:happening. No, but I hear it was Stephanie.
Speaker 3:Nassar, I mean, if you didn't want to be a public spectacle, maybe don't do so.
Speaker 2:And I looked up and that was all the confirmation she needed to know that she had guessed correctly and they came over and they were so excited, they were so genuine and so delightful to say like and I should point out like outside of writing conferences, like people don't shout and scream my name or anything like that.
Speaker 1:That's not what I'm used to at the ice cream shop.
Speaker 2:So I, you know, and so it's delightful on some level and also kind of like, okay, hello, hello, you know, oh, you three know each other and oh, we teach at the same school and you know, we'd like to have you come and all told that's a really lovely personal, like you know situation and you can, you so, but you sort of bookmark it because you're gonna have a hundred more interactions in the next two days, sure, but you know, you sort of it's one you remember, and and then the next time, and they, but they stayed in touch and there was this feeling that oh, okay, these, these three, might be the real deal. I know these, this might be um, you know this, this might be um, but you don't know you know, everybody talks, everybody says nice things.
Speaker 2:You know, as we know, in the, in the arts, you can sort of die of encouragement, you know, and people so, because everybody can be nice and so, um, but then the next time they were I was going somewhere they were like, are you, are you going to be at this conference? And I said, sure, of course, you know, let's try it out. And again you sort of meet them and there's just an overflow of energy and enthusiasm, but also like understanding of what's going to happen and vision and all these things, and you go okay, yeah, yeah, I think they might be the real deal this might actually happen.
Speaker 2:This might and so, but then you get here and it's a whole different thing. I get here and it's and you say and, and there's just some important dynamics to point out. You know, in in schools and in stuff in general, um, you know, my goal, my goal is never like I'm not. I'm not a big fan of trying to like, uh, put kids into a situation where they they're just like losing their minds because, like, oh look uh, you know like excitement over because kids can be just like you.
Speaker 2:You know, they can be churned up you know, and for that for, for any, for anything, for anything the wrong thing.
Speaker 2:And I think for me, you know, always one of my goals is to come in and say, actually, you know, like, you know, sort of democratize all these things are as much as possible, like I did not come from a space where it would be expected of me to have done anything like this. And I, I certainly, you know, it's been a surprise, um, it's been. I, you know, when I got to this country I sort of thought, you know, I thought my son would get to have a good life, you know. And so, um, and so when you land, you're like, oh okay, this is, you know how, how are they going to handle this? And in other scenarios, sometimes what they want is the most sanitized version, because you know it's a very, maybe a bureaucratic situation and they don't know who I am, they don't yet have the trust in me that I could really speak to their kids, and so they don't really want a personal experience, they want a sanitized experience. Come in, just give us your stump speech, do a signing, and, like you know that, in, just give us your stump speech, do a signing and, like you know, that's fine, that's all, that's all the programming. We'll do a signing at the local bookstore as well, and that's for what it's worth.
Speaker 2:It's a great event, that's fine, but it takes an incredible amount of trust and person. You know, like personal um connection and so and I got in and I went oh, okay, this is kind of what they're going for and the underpinning reason for that is because their agenda is my agenda as well. Their agenda is to say to kids look, you can do it too. The agenda is fundamentally to say that yes, these things of the world, like medals, are nice, best-seller things. All those things they're nice.
Speaker 2:Nobody who wouldn't want them and I'm excited about them. But actually he'll be just as jazzed about your writing as you are of his, and to have the opportunity to speak to them personally about that and to meet them there. That's a trust that I think teachers put in you, because you could show up and also insult a kid or not hold a fragile moment delicately, but at the same time it truly sort of takes the real deal kind of teachers who are kind of spending a year to do this, to build for their students. That's not normal. I'm really thankful for that. It was a surprise in almost every way these last two days.
Speaker 3:That's beautiful. I think you're right. It takes a certain amount of trust to bring in somebody you have only met a time or two at a conference and not only grant access to a classroom but to hundreds of students, and it worked. It sounds like it worked very well. I'd love just you know final thoughts on from anyone who'd like to share. You know just why events like this are important when it comes to educating our young ones, and you know showing them again that you can do this too, young ones, and you know showing them again that you can do this too. This is, you know, whatever you want to do, reach for it, it's attainable.
Speaker 6:All right, I'll go first on this. You know, all this to me started a year and a half ago when I started at Albion, in the sense of I truly believe that you should invest in your teachers, your students and, yeah, you got to hire some staff to support it. But you know, when I pitched them, the idea I want you guys to go to national conferences, the whole idea is to get inspired, to learn these new ideas and see things differently. So when they came back and they said we want to do an all community read, we heard about it, but we could do better than what we heard about it.
Speaker 6:I said well, that's a great idea. I said, well, what's the book you want to read? And they're like, it's about the Silk Roads. And I said I'm already sold. You can stop right there, because the whole purpose of the Silk Roads, right, was this transmission of ideas. And to watch, to watch teachers get inspired and invested and motivated over this whole thing was just awesome. And then to watch the students get on board with it as well, it's everything you could hope for as not only a principal but an educator and a parent. And so to inspire people, right, that's the business we're in. And some lessons, you know. Do I think a kid's going to look back and remember their math lesson they had today? No, but do I think they'll remember an experience like this?
Speaker 5:Yes, like this. Yes, well, to that, to that when we applied for the grant, most of the we were asking other teachers that had won the grant in the past and it was never for an experience, even though it says in the descriptor that it can be an experience, and I remember saying to Stephanie this is a long shot but we got to try because in the past it been equipment or resources or something. And when we won we won, because this is an immersive experience and that you know, and Eric believed in our mission, he believed in what we were after and we putting aside yes, face-to-face with Daniel a couple of times, but many, many Zoom calls many many face-to-face.
Speaker 5:Zoom calls, I guess on behalf of Stephanie and myself. Thank you to Daniel for trusting us that we weren't going to do anything, you know, and to provide such a loving, approachable environment which, if anything, I think that's Mr Gardner like to allow us to fly. But he also believed that our students would embrace this. It's not like every school. You would want to do something like this, because the population and and he has created a population of students that thrive Right. I think the last two days has been evident of that for sure.
Speaker 3:You mentioned the grant and, daniel, I think you hit this nail on the head as well that, uh, you know these two are just so passionate about teaching, and Eric as well. But I remember when we came in and announced the grant winners, stephanie Nassar was just over the moon, excited. They're the cutest pictures, and you can just see it in her face of just what we won. This is amazing, and I remember Denise Haycock, the development officer for the Canyons Education Foundation, said you know, this was so unique because it's an experience. It's great to be able to provide those physical resources, the devices or classroom materials that you might need, or maybe a teacher's getting a 3D printer, but to be able to support something like an experience. Are they going to remember the math problem? No, maybe they'll remember that they had a little market and you could buy materials and things, but they'll remember getting to talk to Daniel. Stephanie K how about you?
Speaker 4:I think we really wanted to capture or create. We wanted to be innovative in how we taught kids to have empathy, to dream big, to be kind to each other and to show them that their learning is connected, that a story that they read in ELA has connections to the art they're creating, has connections to the music that they learn, has connections to science and math and even Utah studies, right, and this book that we read was from the 11th century, like that's when it takes place. Right, this book takes place during around the 11th century and the kids were able to connect to the feelings and the emotions and of the story and I think all of that was just really important. And then to have Daniel come at the at the end and really support all of the things that they had been, that they learned through the book was very kind of, uh, a really cool thing and um, and that was what we wanted. We wanted it to be innovative in how we approached it. So, daniel, I think.
Speaker 2:I think the unfortunate part is now everything has to be compared to the this, and so I'm always gonna be, I'm always gonna be like but they didn't let me cook um, so, or you know, it's just so many other things.
Speaker 2:It's so funny. The examples, like really abound. It's been a really packed um two days and I think the yeah, I mean, as far as I mean, I think the question was about what I think in terms of how it will affect the kids. You know, I do love all of that. I think you both nailed it. I mean, you just heard three experts on the topic speak about this and they sort of nailed it right Of the multidisciplinary nature of not just any topic but of learning in general.
Speaker 2:How you it doesn't this topic happened to be this but that to say to a kid, you know, someday, you know, learning, how to learn, is something we often say in, you know, the liberal arts colleges and in schools, you know.
Speaker 2:But what does that actually mean when we say that, like, how do you give somebody a toolkit to say I want this topic in my life, whatever it might be, jazz, music or 1940s, la, like who cares what the topic is? Do they actually have this sort of skill set to teach themselves on these topics in this multi, and to show them that actually not only can you immerse yourself in a subject, but you can do it in almost every aspect. You can grab any aspect of that particular topic and and go forward, depending on what your particular preferences might be. That's a. That is a lifetime skill. You know, that's one of those like you're watching people train something that they'll use, not just because of the facts of the Silk Road but because, if they want to I don't know learn a foreign language, they will know that they should immerse themselves this way. That's a muscle and I think you know teaching a topic is one thing, but teaching learning is a. You know that's strong Kung Fu.
Speaker 3:I think, yeah, you're right, you all hit the nail on the head. There's learning for the sake of learning, numbers, learning your letters, learning you know a verb from a noun, but then there's the why of learning and what you can do with it. And I think I speak for many when I say thank you for taking that time to go that deep with our students and you know being innovative, and thank you all for joining us. I could talk about this for ages. I could talk about books. I love hearing you all get so excited about the students, but thank you for joining us and for sharing all of your knowledge. Thank you, thanks for having us and thank you for joining us and for sharing all of your knowledge.
Speaker 3:Thank you, thanks for having us and thank you for listening. If there's a topic you'd like to hear discussed, send us an email to communications at canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect Canyons. Connect with us on Twitter, facebook or Instagram at Canyons District or on our website, canyonsdistrictorg.
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