I support children and young people in their learning and life journeys and I bring both professional knowledge and personal wisdom to my work. I am officially qualified as a teacher within various pedagogies but I have untangled these titles from who I am with children, as I find them limiting and meaningless in isolation.

I know that I can only guide children if I am committed to my own growth, peace and clarity. My approach is research-informed, developmentally aligned, and based on an understanding that people learn best when they feel seen and understood. Continual learning increasingly enables me to work intuitively with children, weaving in old and new ways.

I enjoy exploring the intersection between education and so many other disciplines. I am interested in the localisation movement which involves building small communities (“human-scale economies”) so we can reconnect with our food, education, healthcare, natural environment and each other. I am also drawn to ideas of deep ecology and the primal connection between humans and the natural world. I see my work with children as my small contribution to this global work, in service to a happier, more trusting, more interconnected and more knowledgeable humanity.

The unschooling and world schooling movements are also interests of mine and I am refining my understanding of each as I explore the research, literature and lived experiences of families walking these paths.

Why alternative education?

Traditional education makes many divisions between organic wholes. It divides children from nature, learning from experience, and discipline from connection. It separates the mind and the heart, and it doesn’t allow children to grow up knowing that all the parts of themselves are equally valuable and equally appreciated.

This kind of education can dull curiosity, prioritise extrinsic over intrinsic motivation, and rush children through learning without providing time for deep focus. Too often, it’s teacher-centred — which leaves little room for developing social and emotional skills, collaboration, and real-world problem solving. Children don’t have the space to cultivate an inner ethical compass or to make their own discoveries. True curiosity is dead for most children by high school. Many home and [well] alternative-schooled children report going to university and being quite shocked at how little their peers care for the process of learning. Our culture has, since the advent of modern schools, conflated the institution of the school with the process of learning. In truth, the school itself is not a prerequisite for socialisation, learning, the development of one’s will and personality, or a true education for life.

Learning is not separable from life itself, and it is not the transmission of static bodies of knowledge to the passive and receptive child. There is an element of mystery to what every child will become, but this process is continually guided by the adults in the child’s life and the kind of activity s/he engages in. This is a continuum beginning at birth. Real education should exist in a rich atmosphere of beauty, inspiration, knowledge and values, and allow the child to act with ever increasing levels of complexity, independence, and in service of ever widening groups until he is confidently able to take his place within society itself, possessing awareness of his gifts and a readiness to contribute them in service to humanity and the world.

Sometimes people think that ‘alternative education’ and academics are mutually exclusive. In fact, home schooled children have been shown to receive on average better results than mainstream educated children on key standardised tests in Australia. Academics are very important but children need to be more active in the process, and robust alternative philosophies solve this problem in very intelligent ways. Teaching does not imply learning. The belief that it does is an illusion built in to the structure of our school systems. Learning is complex, multi-sensory process and academic success depends more on developmental stage, relationship with teachers, and a child’s sense of comfort/safety than many people think.

What I Offer

I provide holistic, individualised learning support to children learning outside the system or who aren’t thriving with traditional tutoring.

My pedagogy is most influenced by Maria Montessori. However I and the way I work have been influenced by so many others, in many cases not within the realm of education. Education is above all a human act, and we must treat it with the reverence and humanity it deserves.

I am also building a learning community of 6-9 year old children. The premise of this little community is based on deep consideration of how every aspect of the environment and the child’s activities within it practically serve what I currently think are the core intentions of education.

We will form a mixed-age community built upon democratic principles, aligned with those of our society. The children will explore the whole world through their own physical and mental activity, that is, through talking, thinking, discovering and generating their own output. Through this, they will practice their skills of questioning, imagination, communication and persistence.

Outside my work

In life, I would call myself a learner. I love to read, inquire, speak to people and make new connections. I love to cook, I commit to regular Zen and insight meditation practice and retreats, I learn Italian and music, and therapy supports me to (forever) build my emotional capacity and tools. I especially enjoy being in the ocean and embarking on long hikes in the wilderness and usually solo!

My educational approach is shaped by:

• Deep passion for learning, which makes me curious, engaged and right there in the process. All my favourite teachers loved the world and that inspired me.

• Montessori philosophy, a system now widely validated by research for its long-term academic and social benefits.

• Attachment-based developmental theory, through training with the Neufeld Institute, which explores how secure relationships support learning and emotional regulation.

• Nature-based mentoring, where self-awareness, resilience, and independence are cultivated through connection to the natural world.

• Collaborative communication, including nonviolent communication, democratic decision making, and restorative practices.

My work integrates these frameworks into practical, individualised support that respects each learner’s pace, strengths, and challenges.