Casey Kennedy - What Is An Acton Academy?

Casey Kennedy - What Is An Acton Academy?

From The Curious Task by Institute for Liberal Studies

May 13, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 352

About this episode

Matt speaks with Casey Kennedy about the unique aspects of the Acton Academy model of education.

Matt speaks with Casey Kennedy, co-founder of Acton Academy Calgary Central, about what makes the Acton model different from traditional schooling: guides instead of teachers, Socratic discussions instead of lectures, mastery instead of grades, and an emphasis on letting kids struggle, fail, and become passionate about the process of learning itself. Casey also explains why she and her husband started the school for their daughter, how her earlier work in Dallas and Sierra Leone shaped her view of education, and why she believes every child has a “genius” that education should help uncover. References Acton Academy Calgary Central https://www.actoncentral.org/ Acton Academy https://actonacademy.org/ The One World Schoolhouse - Salman Khan https://a.co/d/0dI4FOkK Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ Montessori education and mixed-age classrooms https://montessori-ami.org/trainingvoices/mixed-ages-montessori-environment Thanks to Our Patrons Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald.To support The Curious Task, visit:https://patreon.com/curioustask

People in this episode

Host: Matt

Guest: Casey Kennedy

Topics covered

  • education
  • alternative schooling
  • Socratic method
  • child development
  • learning process

Keywords

  • Acton Academy
  • Socratic discussions
  • mastery learning
  • education reform
  • child genius

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Acton Academy Calgary Central, Acton Academy, Khan Academy, Montessori education

Books & works: The One World Schoolhouse

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