Hi, I’m Emily. But around here—and pretty much everywhere else—I go by Grammie.
If you are reading this, I want to welcome you to Grammie's Way of Teaching Academy. To understand what this academy is, you first have to understand why it exists, and that story starts about 45 years ago when I had my first child right out of high school. Since then, I have held onto a single, unwavering belief: every child deserves to learn in their own style.
I know this because I was the kid who fell through the cracks. In school, things just weren't logical to me. I am not a "gray area" person; for me, it’s black or white, up or down, left or right. So when teachers insisted there was only one way to solve a problem, my brain rebelled. I remember sitting in a chair, struggling to focus, thinking, “Math cannot be this hard. English cannot be this complicated. Science is supposed to be fun.” I saw the world entirely differently than the people at the front of the room, and because my hands didn't always cooperate with the visions in my head, my parents got frustrated, and I got frustrated with myself.
But I never gave up. I just kept trying.
Since the classroom wasn't working for me, I built my own. I taught myself how the world worked by pulling old, broken electronics out of the trash and taking them apart on my living room floor. When I got stuck, I’d march the pieces down to the parts store, set them on the counter, and say, “Tell me what this is, where to find it, and if I can replace it myself.”
Sometimes it worked on the first try. Usually, it didn't. I would take the machine apart again, find another broken piece, go back to the store, and start over until it hummed back to life. Over the years, I taught myself plumbing, HVAC repair, auto mechanics, and how to rewire breakers, ceiling fans, and computers. My kids used to joke that they would never get anything brand new because I could fix absolutely everything!
Without even realizing it, I was passing this mindset down to them. When something broke, they stopped asking me to fix it and started trying to figure it out themselves. They still struggled in traditional school—my whole family has—but they grew into wonderful adults, started trades, and built beautiful families of their own.
Then came the grandbabies, and eventually, the great-grandbabies. And my heart broke as I watched history repeat itself. I watched brilliant kids quit, switch to homeschool, or just give up entirely because they couldn't sit still long enough to function in a rigid public school system. For over 40 years, I researched and read everything I could get my hands on, trying to figure out a better way.
The wake-up call came when one of my grandchildren came to me and said, “I am never sending my newborn baby to public school, so you better figure out something to begin teaching him as soon as he is old enough.”
Right around that time, I became very ill. My body is shutting down, and the doctors have told me I only have a few years left. The reality hit me hard: I am not going to be here when that sweet baby is old enough for school.
So, what was I going to do?
I sat down with Eldric, my customized AI assistant, and we got to work. When he suggested I write a curriculum myself, something clicked. For weeks, I dictated my heart out to Eldric. I poured every ounce of my life experience, my worldview, and my hopes for my future generations into those prompts. I threw out a dozen drafts. I corrected Eldric a billion times until he completely understood my philosophy. We built this together.
Grammie's Way of Teaching Academy is the result of that labor of love.
My main goal is simple: to bring families closer together by growing as you go. I want to help you and your children open your minds to all the possibilities and wonders around you. When you introduce this to your family, I want you to remember one crucial thing: this is not a classroom. This is a way of life.
We are turning the whole world into one great, big, beautiful opportunity to learn.
Blessings to you,
Grammie Em