OAK Institute - note to current and new Students
OAK Institute History & Background: Dr. Abe Abrahao offered me the idea to teach Metaphysics on-line to children, much like a "Harry Potter"-like school, described in recent popular movies.
This concept first presented itself to me when I was invited to Chattanooga (Beltane, 2013), to offer Urban Survival Skills and Farming workshops. I witnessed children growing food for the homeless. What I saw, in their joy of becoming empowered, was beyond description.
Seven years later, the Corona Virus hit the world, and everything changed. Our children, now seen to be as one of our single most important natural resource, were being sent home early, and with a good chance of schools not opening on time, in the Fall. Their education (and empowerment) was now at a serious risk.
An Opportunity: I saw an opportunity to begin this school, offering children an educational option, something that could be useful during this terrible hiatus. The previous workshops and educational events in Chattanooga, in less than seven (7) years, had led that city to go from 3% of their food production (like most cities in America), to now up to 40%!
Every single restaurant on the Chattanooga River now had a greenhouse, supplying most salad and greens consumed in that store. The center of town now sponsors a daily Farmer's Market, with a stock exchange of surplus food (and supporting inventory) each week. Their City logo has become = "Right here, right now."
When Beltane, 2020 occurred, I attempted to open my First Course: The Element Earth. The idea was to teach children how to build, and use, a simple Aquaponic system, for growing their own food, even during the winter. Their goal was to produce up to 40% of the food they consumed, by the beginning of winter.
What happened next was completely unexpected = I was met with so many different problems, as to wonder (now) why....? I may never know (exactly) who did this to me, of why, but...
Everything happens for as reason. And, everything leads to something better."
One thing was for certain: I was not yet ready to offer a new way to empower our children. In fact, may never really "ready," as this concept has now become a process, rather than a technique...
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Statement of Purpose - this project is NOT about what is taught to children, it is about what they want to know = so they can teach themselves - this is about educational reform (not "metaphysics"). That said, and a little kinks currently being ironed out, we move ahead!
Sincerely,
Richard Alan Miller
OAK Institute
