A Word from Our Upper School Mentor: Adler Roberts
All the world’s a stage…. This phrase, penned by William Shakespeare centuries ago, continues to capture the imagination with its simplicity and application. All children, wherever they receive their education, are standing in the wings being prepared to step out onto a stage. They’ll step into the world, surrounded by a culture that will either predominantly shape or be shaped by their story. It’s our desire at Innovate Academy for all scholars to be Culture Makers, confidently walking onto that stage.
About Me
My name is Adler Roberts, and I am one of the Lead Mentors of the Logic School. I wear a few different hats from Humanities to Storytelling. I come from a performing arts background. I started performing when I was young, ended up pursuing a BFA, and then worked in film, television, and theatre for the beginning of my professional career, telling various stories in different ways. I’ve already used the word “story” so much, but it’s honestly at the core of what I do. What we all do. We’re writing a story with our lives. We have all come from somewhere and are going somewhere. My greatest desire is to see the journey of broken people rebuilt on the identity and foundation of Christ. It’s the greatest story ever told.
About My Classes
Let’s be honest, the middle school years can be a weird time. There is a lot of change that happens. It’s when identities take on a new shape. It is my privilege to journey alongside scholars as they discover their identities, rooted in Christ, and then spur them on to do something about it. It is during Logic School at Innovate where scholars begin taking their gifts and skills that have been developing for the last few years and begin using them for a purpose. Scholars begin to take intentional steps from the wings and onto the stage. They begin to critically explore, How am I going to tell my story?
Humanities is the study of the human story. This core Logic School class is grounded in the exploration of history, philosophy, and literature. Although our Humanities class focuses a lot on reading and writing, ultimately a vibrant socratic discussion helps scholars to articulate what they think and why.
Storytelling begins as a Special in Grammar School. Although stories are inherently in our DNA, sometimes it’s hard to put a finger on what makes a story compelling, so we begin exploring this concept early on. In Logic School, we start putting a finger on the structure of dramatic arts and communication more formally. Additionally, Storytelling is thoroughly blended with Humanity lessons. History after all is filled with drama.
Ultimately, the point of these courses is to equip scholars to understand biblical truth and inspire them to create positive change for the world. Stepping from the wings, onto the stage. It’s like all of the gears of a machine beginning to work together. These gears are the head, heart, and hands.
An example of these gears in motion would be our service learning projects, where students research (head) a non-profit they care about (heart) and strategically become involved in providing aid/community service to that organization (hands).
Why I Love Innovate
Beyond what I’ve already mentioned, I love that at Innovate Academy, education is more than an academic subject. We don’t just study for studying’s sake but to make a difference in the world. It’s amazing to be supported by an organization that cares about the head, heart, and hands of a scholar. At the end of the day, remembering specific historical dates will pale in significance to a Christian upbringing that allows scholars to think critically about whatever subject they find themselves passionate about and be able to have loving discussions with others about it.
Because each individual will be passionate about something different, the smaller classroom allows me to get to know students and their families on an individual basis. Innovate Academy scholars are individually known. This model prevents a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter kind of education.
My thoughts in this blog post are only the tip of the iceberg as to why I love teaching at Innovate Academy. I’ve had the privilege to perform in front of thousands of people. My world was the literal stage. As weird as it may sound though, most days, I experience much more joy and fulfillment in front of fifteen scholars each morning than I did in front of thousands. My greatest fulfillment is when one of my scholars understands what it means to perform for an audience of One.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters... Colossians 3:23