Necessity; the mother of the genius school invention.
Our story
Burn out led Karema Akilah to do what she said she would NEVER DO. UNschool.
Compliant children; present in body, obedient. Good grades and completed assignments. A successful homeschool by many standards, but something was missing.
The kids never got to be curious, passionate, able to 100% follow their interests. Karema never got to be (deep sigh)… yeah, THAT! It was never enough, never good enough.
So, she invented the Possibility of her children being trusted, joyful, curious, ENOUGH in their homeschool. She Deschooled, leaning more and more into the possibility she invented until she actually GOT IT!
She saw the light come back on in her kids! They were ignited from within to follow curiosities, no matter what they were! They began asking to do things she previously had to BEG them to do! They were living in the Possibility of FREEDOM and loving it!
Widowed. now what?
Cancer. Her husband was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer. The next 12 months were full of hour long car rides, 4-5 hour long infusions, finding joy in the small moments and being GRATEFUL that UNschooling allowed all of it to “count” as learning. When her husband passed in early 2016, what was going to happen to the kids if she needed to find full time work? Freedom, Autonomy and Authenticity in UNschooling had ruined them for traditional school.
Necessity birthed The Genius School; 100% non compulsory learning, self directed community, built upon DeColonized relationships with kids & TEENS, DeSchooling and UNschooling!
the evolution of the genius school …
1 day a week offering in PA called DDL; Delight Driven Learning
2 days in Baltimore called Intent & Purpose
the LOL app becoming GENIE
the first online version in Atlanta mandated by the Pandemic
Genius Schools in Maryland, Atlanta, online and budding in California
receiving a Vela Grant to add Ai to GENIE
creating the BeMeStuffie
Pausing all of it in pursuit of financial sustainability
Resurrecting the vision of $BeMeToken and GENIE on Blockchain to fund it
Reopening the online school
Serving TEENS with Geniī without Walls
and now
giving $BeMeToken room to manifest, while wholeheartedly trusting it will
being committed to serving families with Integrity and creatively using free meeting spaces to host the hybrid Genius School, until investors make room for a building.
Thank you for keeping the possibility of the genius school alive! my daughter needs this!
—hopeful parent