Meet a storyteller: Anya Smith-Roman
This post is part of a series. Earlier posts are linked at the bottom.
Let’s connect the Storyteller compass point and its mindshifts to a real storyteller.
Meet Anya Smith-Roman. (Check out Podcast Episode 7 to hear Anya.)
Anya is an amazing young person who began focusing on storytelling when she was in high school at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, GA
The new story she’s been focusing on is telling the story of what’s possible when we elevate the learner voice in transforming our schools.
And this is her story….
High school was when Anya first became inspired by the question….
How might we transform education into a learner-centered, equitable and impact-driven paradigm?
That was her question….as a high school student! Already, you can see how remarkable a person Anya is.
At the time, she noticed a particular omission in the school’s work around transforming education…
Where’s the learner voice?
To her, it seemed school was being designed by the adults with little involvement from the actual people ‘using” this thing that we call school….the learners.
It was as if schooling was being done to or for young people, and not with them.
Anya knew from her extensive first hand experience with design thinking that designing with users was critical feedback in the invention process.
Basically….Designing without users? That’s just a recipe for an unsustainable innovation!
So she approached the adults in her school…
Wouldn’t you say that students are one of the primary users of school? When we’re redesigning the school for transformation, we’re designing for students. But students aren’t represented at the table.
The adults were intrigued….and enlightened!
So much so they began engaging learner voice, including creating a new student role…
Fellow for the Mt. Vernon Institute for Innovation.
And Anya…she became that first fellow.
She was finally in the room where it was happening….contributing her voice...the learner voice. Not in a silo...as part of some token focus group...but actually at the table with other adults and learners.
Anya started to uncover her potential as an objector.
And she’s been an inventor…. designing and implementing solutions that elevate student voice in the work of transforming schooling...
One of her inventions, in collaboration with her peers, was to create Trailblazers Magazine, a learner-driven e-magazine about the education transformation movement, written by young learners.
Specifically, learners telling their story..reflecting on their experiences through their unique insider lens. Trailblazers has become the premier voice of learners in the movement to transform schooling.
It’s telling the story of student voice, inspiring others, young and old to take action.
Yes...Inspiration…
That’s why Anya finds storytelling to be so important.
She knows that inspiring others leads to connection and deeper relationships.
And it all started because she was objecting to a flaw in the system and sharing her story.
Sharing stories inspires others.
Tell your story….tell about the possibilities created by your new story. Tell the story of The Human School...your Human School.
What do you find inspiring about Anya’s story?
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