Baker & Bloom is known as a forward-looking organization. We have always emphasized on the cultivation of creativity, as an essential ability of being able to adapt, and imagine new possibilities. Since our first classes in design thinking, entrepreneurship, and creative writing back in 2014, we have been explicitly teaching, modelizing and perfecting this system of learning that has been popularized by 21st century education. We root all of our education classes with our Four-Leaf approach, and we encourage students to take an active role in their learning, by ‘learning to learn’. We want to encourage students to be involved in their own learning journey by teaching them strategies that help them foster independence, and resilience through a growth mindset.
In response to Covid-19, our Baker & Bloom teachers have proven that they are adaptable, resilient, and creative. Not only have they risen to the challenge of online teaching but do so with ingenuity, while maintaining a high standard. We have not only refined our ability to conduct coaching and group classes online, but also hybrid lessons where some students are physically present and others participate digitally.
Though we cannot predict, we can prepare. When I became an ISTE-certified educator in January 2019, I had no inkling of how relevant those lessons would be! We were taught to integrate new pedagogies and technologies into the classroom to enhance students’ thinking, learning, and collaboration. A few months later, this was exactly what we had to do. Adapting to the new online and blended environments has been daunting at times, yet, it has reaffirmed our central belief in the importance of creativity, and a genuine love of learning. This unpredictable situation has forced us to become learners ourselves, and through that experience, we have all become better teachers.
In these times of uncertainty, our students have relied on our constancy and it has been meaningful to be able to provide familiarity, continuity, and structure. At Baker & Bloom, we strive to be adults who care about them personally, and to be teachers who evolve alongside them, sharing our own discoveries. To our young students, every year is unprecedented; they teach us to remain hopeful about the future, to accept changes, and trust in our innate power to grow.
Renée Boey
Founder of Baker & Bloom
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