[00:00] Speaker 1: (Relaxing music playing) Welcome to All Learning Reimagined, the podcast that defines convention and redefines the purpose and practice of education. Here we venture beyond institutional boundaries. Whether you're a parent, educator, or curious mind devoted to lifelong growth, this is your space to challenge assumptions and co-create a more humane and intuitive approach to education. Let's reimagine what education can be.

[00:42] Speaker 2: (laughing)

[00:48] Speaker 3: Good day, and welcome to All Learning Reimagined. I'm your host, Teresa, bringing you a little ray of sunshine, as together, we're reimagining the future of education one inspired story at a time. Welcome back, everybody. It's so good to be with you again. Uh, and welcome to any new listeners that we may have. Um, you are ... If you're a solution seeker, you're certainly in the right place. (laughs) Uh, so today, I want to explore something that has really quietly faded in many parts of the world, and yet, in my opinion, it's natural and it's essential part of being, um, you know, a, a creator, being, uh, a human learning for thousands of years, and that is intergenerational learning. Uh, it's nothing new at all, and it's something that, in this lifetime for me, at least, I have not experienced, uh, not in a formal setting. And yet when you think about grandparents and great-grandparents and, and blended families, uh, it seems to be happening all over the place naturally.

[02:01] Speaker 3: Uh, it's just not everybody sees the value in it because of the way that the society's programming has gone, that, you know, you need someone with a label, a name badge, a piece of paper, a doctrine, a master's, uh, you know, dot, dot, dot, to be the expert to be in charge of the learning rather than valuing lived experience and direct experience, which, in my direct experience, is so much more valuable. You know, you can have a PhD in life, um, and it's practical and a lot more grounded. So, the sharing of knowledge and stories and skills and wisdom across all of the ages, you know, from the elders to the young children, or possibly from children back to elders, and everything between, this, this is the vision. And, um, this is what I would love to discuss and get us to ponder on today. So, you know, as you know, I don't like telling anyone what to do, but I really like bringing things up and shaking the, shaking the jar of ants to see where it lands and to see ...

[03:12] Speaker 3: You know, sometimes we're all in our comfort zone, and we're, uh, just cruising through life through default, and we don't stop and reconsider that just because the way we do something doesn't, doesn't mean that this is the best way to be doing it right now. And is it appropriate to possibly shift, or in some cases, completely change? Um, or is what you're currently doing on track and in alignment with your true beliefs and your true knowing? Um, so that's, that's sort of, or what I'm feeling into today, and, uh, as usual, my topics are always inspired (laughs) uh, by a conversation with someone. And just observing someone the other day in their shopping center, it was a grandparent with a, with their grandchildren, and I caught myself standing and smiling, (laughs) smiling there with just a, a big, giddy smile, watching this whole scene play out where they were teaching the children how to choose fruit in the supermarket.

[04:15] Speaker 3: And they were, you know, feeling the fruit, and they were smelling the fruit. And, and they were just sharing that knowledge of what, what's good, what to put back, and what to actually choose, and it just made my heart smile. And I thought, "Wow, this is true intergenerational learning at its best." It doesn't have to be a scheduled program. It's just happening in everyday life, and I just love that. And so I did a little bit of research, 'cause, you know, I'm a bit of a geek, and I love research. Uh, and as you know, before schooling systems or structured classrooms that we have today, which is rapidly declining into AI and technological learning, really, um, you know, learning happened in the community, something I'm very passionate about. And, you know, children learned by observing. They learned by participating. They asked questions. They felt safe to take the risks. Um, and they contributed alongside people of all ages. And in many cultures, they ...

[05:20] Speaker 3: That's where they discovered their passion, what they were interested in and their skill, their skill set, you know, their own intelligence, um, in an area, and then they would usually, uh, continue learning until mastery. You know, whether it was, uh, you know, the old, the blacksmith, if you think back in medieval days, or, um, you know, go to Italy, and it's, uh, the old make creating of shoes from scratch. Uh, there's just so many different things. You know, how to bake and, and cooking. Uh, I know they used to have hunting, but there's just so many different things that we could do today that we are contributing alongside people of all ages and not necessarily bundling our children in all in the same level, in the same age group.Like the factory workers in the Industrial Revolution, somewhere along the line, we really began separating learning by age, and it's just not natural, in my opinion. I just don't feel that it is natural. It's separation from self in that connection.

[06:27] Speaker 3: And, uh, I learn from children all the time of all ages. It's amazing. They are amazing beings to be around. And yet, I have friends that have nothing to do with children, and I feel like they're missing out. And, uh, life as an adult and adulting is not all that it's cracked up to be if you lose that sense of play and that sense of, um... I don't like to say inner child, but that's what it is, it's your, um, your playfulness within- within you. You're never too old for that, really. And if you have shut it down, then it's time to, you know, get off your chair, go outside, uh, kick a soccer ball around, even if it's just by yourself in the backyard, or watch the birds and have a giggle at the way that they're interacting. Uh, get some playfulness into your life, definitely. I would encourage that, for sure. It's the best medicine. Absolute... Play is medicine, in my opinion. Um, that's quote of the day for me.

[07:31] Speaker 3: Uh, so, you know, separating by age, we lost something, uh, valuable, and it's time there is a resurgence, there is a re-emergence, and I love the word emergence right now, and I don't mean emergency, which, you know, Big Pharma has sort of hijacked that word, but, you know, emergence, that becoming. And I am talking and interacting with so many that are feeling this shift and this swing back towards the natural way of learning, and some people are talking, you know... I'm not huge into social media, but whenever I do look at something, there's people talking like it's a new thing, intergenerational learning. It is ancient. It is ancient. It's not new. It's not a buzzword. It's just going back to our roots, which makes common sense, really. Everything is cyclical, and we've been through our winter.

[08:27] Speaker 3: As far as I'm concerned, we're coming out of winter, and we are moving towards spring, where everything is going to bloom again, and the old systems and the old things that are not working for us anymore, um, you know, habits that we have and- and ways of doing things are crumbling so that we can bring through the new. So when... In my research, I was looking at intergenerational learning, you know. As we know, it's ancient, and being in Australia, of course, I started with the Aboriginal culture. Fascinating culture, and the more that I, um... to learn about it and connect with it, the more I can see how our origines really had it right. They- they just do. And, uh, not necessarily today, because many of them have lost their way, uh, because of the way that society has treated their belief systems and- and operated, but the true origines, those that are still working in the natural way, they have their knowledge passed through storytelling and observation and shared experience.

[09:32] Speaker 3: And that connection to country, and- and connection to country are words that have almost been weaponized in this country right now. Um, it's been overdone, it's been pushed on people, and it's- it's turning people off. Um, there's a lot of people pushing back on saying, uh, uh, connection to country, and it's such- such a shame, because it really is what it is, connecting to the land, uh, our beautiful planet, you know, that gives us the air that we breathe, abundance of food and seeds, uh, the beautiful water that we drink. It is everywhere. It's the unified field around us, and we live here, and the earth that we are standing on, you know, we're not in maritime law, we're not on a ship, we're not in that jurisdiction. We're on land and soil. And so that connection to that experience of the actual country is vital. And the elders held cultural wisdom, uh, you know, lots of yarning circles and sharing of that wisdom, uh, and they had boundaries, they had consequences.

[10:40] Speaker 3: They actually went by natural lore, L-O-R-E, uh, which is, um, something else which has been stamped out over the years, and I can see a huge re-emergence of this as well coming through. And the children learned through participation, and they learned through listening, and they were allowed to be who they are, within reason, uh, but they were allowed to be who they are. And so the Aboriginal culture were really the epitome of examples of intergenerational learning, um, uh, and that's why I started there. There's lots of books, uh, lots of websites, lots of, uh, elders. I mean, there's, you know, (laughs) almost 300 different dialects and, um, and- and tribes all around Australia, and groups... I- I don't even know what words to use anymore, because that's been weaponized against us as well. "If you say this, it's gonna offend this person. If you say this, it's gonna offend, uh, this group." And it's... (laughs) It's very confusing.

[11:45] Speaker 3: But from my heart, I would just like to say that, you know, um, uh, I salute you. I- I honor you. I really respect, uh, those who are still going in this, um, in this culture, the original way, the natural way. I absolutely salute you to be able to navigate that in today's world. And then, of course, we've got our cousins across the ocean, our beautiful Maori culture, um-... uh, and Aotearoa, which, you know, New Zealand, and their learning was so embedded in family. Uh, the whānau, I don't know if I pronounced that right, but that's, that's how I would pronounce the, the, the word, um, you know, the family and community is everything. And the amount of Māori children that I've taught over the years and, uh, you just, you don't mess with family. They are just so connected and they have this huge, big, loving heart. They're basically like big walking hearts and smiles. Uh, the most gorgeous communities, and such a stunning country.

[12:50] Speaker 3: If you've never been there, I would highly recommend you go there. Will, it will change your life. Just even the air is different. Um, the elders, you know, guided through stories and song, their singing and their, um, you know, the haka and the passion that they have is lived and living example of what to do, and that's another amazing culture to look at with intergenerational learning. You know, and that's just two countries. I know that many Native American cultures were exactly the same. The children learned through basically from my, from my view, an, an apprentice- apprenticeship-style experiences. Um, you know, they're watching and doing and contributing alongside the ani- the adults, and they had their rite of passage. And, um, and then they earned their value and they contributed, which gave them that sense of self-worth, and also that connection to who they are, and also connection to the elements around them, and appreciating, once again, nature. It's not separate from us.

[13:53] Speaker 3: It's ingrained in us. It's just that our minds have been in the way, our minds have been weaponized, and we have lost our way to, many of us, I'm generalizing here, you know, feel into our body and actually tap into the environment around us. And it's time, if, if you're one that's thinking, "I don't even know what she's talking about," really sit with this later, and, you know, go and sit near a tree, go and walk on the beach, go, um, go for a walk in a park, wherever it is you happen to be, even if you've got a little sad tomato plant- tomato plant on your balcony if you're sitting in a high-rise, go and sit and look at that plant and talk to it, sing to it, connect with it. Uh, whatever your circum- circumstances are, I would really urge, encourage you, and would love to inspire you to stop and feel into, instead of looking at everyone else and what they're doing, what are you doing? What am I doing? And how am I connecting?

[14:54] Speaker 3: And, and where, where can I possibly shift or adapt, um, or even just bring it into awareness? Awareness is the first step. Does- you don't have to do anything. It's just that awareness and that appreciation and gratitude and that acknowledgement, uh, is very, very powerful, and it's small things like this, you know, when you ask someone who may be a completely different age what their opinion is, that's intergenerational learning. You're learning from each other, sharing from your authentic experience, not just regurgitating what you've been told to say or what you feel is politically correct to say, and, and what we feel is not gonna offend people. I don't mean, you know, you don't have to say it in an offensive way with, you know, swearing or yelling or being forceful, it's just speaking from your true self, from your heart space, 'cause that's where the true intelligence lies, and it- this is what I feel. And, for me, when I started doing things like this, sometimes I didn't know.

[15:54] Speaker 3: I was like, "Wow, I don't even know what I feel." And it was quite confronting, and yet that really sort of put a little bit of a fire in my belly, because I was like, "How can I be so distracted that I don't even know myself? And I don't even know my own true opinions." And it wasn't until I started talking to others in different generations, and I could see their perspectives and look at it from their point of view, that it helped me sharpen and give me clarity around my own perspectives, which deepened my own learning. Uh, and this is, you know, really powerful, really powerful information. Uh, you know, and then there's also other, other society, I mean, I could go on and on. Europe, (laughs) it w- definitely has had intergenerational learning embedded. Asia, the same. Africa, the same. It's everywhere and it's ancient, so why in the supposed Western worlds today has this been completely abandoned? I know some people that I will talk to will say that it's definitely by design.

[17:03] Speaker 3: Others will just say it was the frog in the pot, we've just slowly lost our way, and others will say, "Well, I never lost it because I'm already connected. We're still living this life." It really depends on where you're at, uh, what timeline you're on, and, uh, and how deep your awareness is, because there's no clear divide between learning and living, in my opinion. They are the same thing. It's one and the same, learning and living, which is, um, a really important point for us to remember. So then that comes back to, well, how did we get in this mess in the first place? What changed? Modern systems, they really did bring about many benefits, but they also brought about separation, and, you know, children were grouped strictly by age. Even today, there are children, you know, it has to be the cutoff date of your birthday, you cannot do this.

[17:56] Speaker 3: Whether the child is ready or not, many young, particularly boys, they, they need more years of play and hands-on outdoor experience before they're putting into any sort of formal learning setting, and, not that they're not learning when they're playing, uh, and yet it doesn't matter if they're that age, they're pretty much..... are forced, because it's a law here, uh, to be able to start school at a certain age regardless of whether they're ready or not. And some children are ready to go to school earlier. I know I started, ah, school (laughs) a y- a year early. I actually went, I was a whole year younger than all of my cohort. Um, and I don't blame my parents for sending me to school a year early, because I probably talked their heads off and I was absolutely ready for it, and I, I couldn't wait. I can imagine I, I probably drove them mad.

[18:47] Speaker 3: So it was like, "Oh, let's, she needs stimulation, let's send her, let's, let's get, let's get her ready to go." But learning and going through all of my schooling life, being a year, a whole year younger, in some cases a little bit more, than other children, in development really made me strive. I had to step up to even just earn my place. And, uh, that actually held me in good stead, gave me really good work ethics. And definitely keeps you humble, that's for sure. Absolutely. Uh, but I learnt a lot more. I was able to observe a lot more and I le- I learnt faster, because when I was ever, you know, on athletics days and I had to go back to my age group in order to race, uh, I ran rings around the children who were my actual age, and I was looking at the, even in maturity, I looked at them differently even though we were technically the same age. I mean, what is age anyway really? It's a state of mind.

[19:45] Speaker 3: Um, so the environment really does have a lot to do with this, you know, nature versus nurture I guess. So, um, uh, the other thing that changed was that elders were placed outside of daily family life. I mean, we had lots of intergenerational living, which in my opinion is also a really great way to go, uh, particularly with, uh, so many broken families today. I, I know there's circumstances that's so different and not one size fits all for everybody, but elders who were deliberately taken away from that family life, uh, we really lost something there. When you took them from that family life and you started putting them into old people's homes, um, or sending them away, uh, and I don't, uh, I don't mean people who need genuine care, like medical care, I'm talking about, uh, living, breathing, are still able to contribute, have so much knowledge to share, elders who are not welcome to live with their families, or perhaps they just don't get on, I guess.

[20:49] Speaker 3: There's lots of different circumstances. But this was definitely something that shifted and changed, uh, in our society. And of course our busy schedules replaced shared time. Uh, I know very few people today who even have a shared family meal. Everyone seems to eat at a different time, sometimes parents are cooking different meals at different times. Um, it's, it's complicated, and yet, it, it's so vital to be able to come together, at least one meal a day, and have shared time where you can talk and discuss, and that's where some of the learning can be, and that's where your values, um, uh, your opinions, your perspectives can be challenged and also shared, and you can have that deeper connection. Uh, and, and the other huge shift, of course, which has been a massive disruptor for us has been technology. It's even replacing conversation.

[21:47] Speaker 3: You can go into a restaurant any night of the week and guarantee that there'll be a couple or a family sitting in a restaurant all on devices, and they're not giving eye contact, and they're not connecting with each other. Brothers and sisters might be texting each other, and they're sitting right next to each other rather than actually turn and, and watch eye contact and body language. We're losing that skill because we're getting so disconnected through the technology. So technology is a tool but it n- it's not meant to replace, um, you know, if you wanna go down the whole transhumanism movement, go for it. Uh, however, in my opinion, that's, that's not the way to go, uh, ba- back to the natural way, because families really became more disconnected, and that's where the shift changed. You know, I don't feel like it was by choice. Um, many people say it's by design and by pace. Um, I don't have the answer to that.

[22:42] Speaker 3: I, I feel like there's many different layers and it's not just that simple. Uh, and i- I feel like it's a combination of so many different things. And with that, the natural flow of wisdom across generat- generations slowly began to thin and peter out until all of a sudden it just seems normal that when you get to a certain age, okay, well, I better start looking around for, shopping around for which, uh, old people's home I'm going to go to, and, you know, why are our retirees not in schools working with children, sharing in, in Tinker sheds, and helping them read, and telling them stories, and teaching them to knit, and create with their hands? And it's just so many things that we could be doing right now that would be very, very easy for us to make that deliberate shift, conscious shift back, back to the natural, back to the ancient, back to the connection.

[23:41] Speaker 3: And, you know, this matters, because bringing intergenerational learning back, it's not, um, oh, what's the word I'm looking for? Probably nostalgia. It's not nostalgic, it's practical. It's just so practical, and it's powerful. We know it works. Uh, you know, the wisdom meets the curiosity, you've got w- wisdom of the elders meets the curiosity of the young, and the young keep the elders young (laughs) because they've always got something, they're always bringing something, it just makes you laugh, and really, um, love hearing things that young children say, they just amaze you, uh, every time. You know, the elders offer experience and perspective, and also calm, which is important.... uh, for children, but the children bring the questions and the creativity and the fresh thinking. This is what we need, you know, the ebbs and flows and cycles of life. We're not meant to be stagnant. We're not meant to be straight lines. Nature is not straight lines.

[24:42] Speaker 3: It's wavy and swirls and spiraling up. Um, it's, it's the Fibonacci, you know? So together, the learning becomes richer. Uh, and of course, as you know, this is all my opinion, but, uh, it, it feels right to me. And of course, my intuition is really strong on this. You know, we're stro- we have a stronger identity and belonging. The children feel more connected to their roots and who they are, and also feel like they're becoming pa- a bigger part of something other than themselves so you don't get that self-absorbent, uh, me, me, me, um, uh, mindset really, because it, it expands the heart. Uh, and the expanded ways of learning, I mean, learning becomes conversational, uh, definitely observational and, and relational. It's not just academic and what grade can I get. It's practical and it's, it's expanded. And then of course, that links into emotional wellbeing across all of the ages.

[25:46] Speaker 3: The children can gain patience and they can gain empathy, and the older generat- generations can feel valued and purposeful and heard. And the connection actually sports, supports everyone. It's win, win, win. Win for the child, win for the elder, w- win for anyone of any age in between, um, and also just win for community and society because this would have a huge flow and effect, a huge ripple effect, uh, everywhere. You know, real life skills and perspective from cooking to storytelling to problem solving to even, you know, how do I trim down that tree? When do I plant my seeds? You know, is it time? How do... When, when's it time to harvest the food? Uh, you know, all those sorts of things. How do I change a tire? Learning becomes grounded in real experience. If I have an issue, can I fix my own car rather than send it to someone else? Um, how can I learn these sorts of skills?

[26:46] Speaker 3: And in my opinion, why this is needed now is because in a world of fast information and constant distraction and increasing disconnection, which is quite alarming really, intergenerational learning will bring us back to presence. You can sort of feel that. I'm just gonna take a breath now (inhales) and sit in my body and be present. It will bring us back to conversation and shared humanity, shared is-ness, shared beings and connection. And it slows things down, and it really deepens what matters. It's not the shallow learning, it's the deepen, deepening. And there are lots of practical ways that you can introduce these things. So as regular listeners know, every week I write an article or activities that go along with the topic that I am talking about this week. And this week, what I've done with my article is I've created a guide with practical ways that you can int- reintroduce intergenerational learning.

[27:57] Speaker 3: So if you're interested, and it's things like creating regular connection points, inviting storytelling, uh, learning skills together, um, encouraging conversations across the ages, um, making bridges within community, you know, not just family, but local community groups and neighbors and, and mentoring relationships, those sorts of things. And so if you're interested in this, you can go to BBS Radio, amazing BBS Radio, shout out to the crew there. You are, uh, just incredible, just beautiful. Everything you do is so heart-centered and totally love you guys. So bbsradio.com/alllearningreimagined. So when you go there, you'll see the archived of over a year sh- year of shows now, I've been going for over a year, and so many different articles and activities and, and things. Take it, it's all free. Um, explore with it, make it, make it your own, um, and enjoy it and, you know, uh, um, uh, share it, please.

[29:02] Speaker 3: That's why I'm doing this, to share the passion and to get people stopping and thinking and to possibly, uh, inspire others, uh, to consider and to just reflect on where they're at. And so for today, you know, intergenerational learning is not something new, um, that we need to create. It's just something natural that we need to choose to return to. You know, it's that remembrance of how we always learned, your connection and story and shared experience. And I'm going to leave it there. I think, you know, when so many people are disconnected, this is a really powerful way to bring depth and belonging and wisdom back into our lives, you know, with each other. So thank you beautiful listeners, beautiful solution seekers for joining me today on All Learning Reimagined. Until next week, explore, experience, express, go out and live learning.

[29:59] Speaker 1: (Instrumental music.) Thank you for joining us on All Learning Reimagined, where passion illuminates the path forward. Remember this, the future of learning doesn't arrive from above, it begins within. You are the spark, the shift, the living answer to education's silent call for transformation. So stay curious, stay awake. Let inspiration be your compass, because how we learn today is not just personal, it is profoundly generative. It shapes the very architecture of tomorrow's world. We are not separate from the system. We are its evolution. Until next time, trust the wisdom of your own unfolding and let your life be the lessons that light the way for others.

[31:07] Speaker 4: (laughs)