Josh Farris
Educational Speaker
Fire-Born Speaking:
Empowering Stories Towards Ed. Freedom
Public Speaking
Combining Lived Experiences with Research Insights to Spark New Conversations and New Ideas
Why Public Speaking?
Examples lead the way. Change isn’t just seen on spreadsheets and research reports. Change is seen in the stories of those we impact. Personal Stories bring conscious awareness to problems not always seen as well as the hope we need to fuel solutions. Stories do something that numbers cannot: They humanize our differences.
MY EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY:
As many organizations and institutions lead with a vision and a set of guiding principles to achieve their vision, understanding our educational philosophy is essential to our work.
What does education look like? How do we know that education is occurring? My educational philosophy guides my work. At the core of my work, I always follow Five Key Tenants:
1. Youth are The Experts of Their Own Lives
The answers to their problems require their input. Youth of any age can accomplish more than we think and we must cultivate their agency at a young age if they are to inherit and effectively handle the mistakes of previous generations.
2. An Effective Education is Holistic and Responsive to the Needs of Individuals
All knowledge, content and skills fall within 4 domains: Financial, Academic, Socio-Emotional (Inter & Intra), & Professional. A holistic education is both inclusive and excellent. Inclusive means Including various stakeholders within the process, such as community members, agencies, employers, educators, youth, and parents. Excellence strives for active mastery in any learning goal.
3. Learning and Educating are an interchangeable and Lifelong Process
True education has no restrictions on time, place, or educator. Learners in one moment can also be Educators in another. Adults can learn as much from youth as they do from Adults.
4. Knowledge is Best Retained when Actively Created
Education prepares us to both inherit prior knowledge and to make new knowledge to understand our ever changing world. Knowledge constructed through direct experience is just as valuable as learning in a classroom.
5. Achievement is Multi-Faceted
Traditional assessments such as tests and grades are not the only means to determine potential or progress. Tests, grades, and other factors do not define a learner’s ability or potential in any area.
About Me
Growing up in a rural and high-poverty community in Southwest Virginia, education and learning quickly became my saving grace. I developed a keen interest in Education Leadership and understanding educational systems. By the 12th grade, I had the privilege to spend time with the division Superintendent as well as principals at two district high schools to understand the challenges they faced serving students in the community. I also developed an affinity for speaking in public at an early age. These interests continued in college.
I attended the University of Virginia on a full-ride Questbridge scholarship. I majored in Youth & Social Innovation, a new degree that combines youth development with research, education policy, evaluation and education innovation & entrepreneurship. My scholarship chiefly focused on the challenges that first-generation and low-income students face in accessing, completing, and transitioning out of post-secondary education. Since then, I have created content, published research, and provided support to many individuals, schools, colleges, nonprofits and businesses.
I dream to a Dumbledore of Education and I regularly use my knowledge in education innovation, systems thinking, and public speaking skills to aid efforts in transforming both k-12 and post-secondary education in the U.S
Education is Synonymous With Transformation
The best education is authentic, organic, and fun. It is often uncomfortable but always safe. A True education is not transactional but transformational. The focus is on the process and not just the outcome. Education is based in Empathy and embraces the various identities of both learners and educators.
Ultimately, we must remember that the word Education is derived from two latin roots: “educare,” which means to train or to mold, and “educere,” meaning to lead out. My educational philosophy seeks to balance these two varying philosophies and approaches within education.