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Chapter 7: Family Academy

This chapter falls in the center of the book and its fitting that families are also the center of society and the organization upon which all meaningful social change hinges. Unfortunately, a variety of factors have contributed to the decentralization, dissolution, and disenfranchisement of families. If we stabilize the family, we will have a much better chance of stabilizing individuals, neighborhoods, and larger communities. 

Family units are unique in the educational paradigm because unlike SC-U students, family members are, of necessity, always focusing outward. In order for a family to be stable, happy, and productive, they have to focus on the needs and happiness of other family members. In this environment, families can get the best understanding of the whole-person identity of each family member. Family units also look outward to other families, since they are built within and in relation to their community. 

There is immense power in the family dynamic. Each family has their own rate or factor of safety, security, sanctuary, and safety. Highly-functioning families provide a safe place to fail, a nurturing incubator for ideas and growth, and a built-in peer review and support system. The Family Academy aims to help families reach this point while maintaining their unique personality, momentum, and trust. 

The Family Academy is an educational institution because its primary goal is to help families learn and grow together. Families will learn to recognize where they need to change and then go down different scenario paths to make these changes happen. The Academy is made up of groups of four families working together to strengthen and develop the family unit. 

Together, family groups will explore and work on the main family unit needs, including:

• Education
• Self-improvement
• Spiritual well-being
• Financial well-being
• Interpersonal behavior (manners, etiquette, speech, posture, etc.)
• Rejuvenation
• Health
• Social life
• Personal relations
• Inter-family relations
• Community relations
• Children and God’s plan
• And more

Families will select between 10-12 topics each month, overlapping some to provide interdisciplinary perspectives. The initial phases will include get-to-know-you surveys and activities to help families determine where they are and where they hope to go. Success in the family is about far more than surviving, obtaining things, having fun, and being comfortable. Each family unit will discuss what they are really here for and what they hope to accomplish. They will also examine the existing gaps between family members within the unit and between them and other family units. 

Like the 3D Learning and SC-U models, the Family Academy will help  family units better incorporate their personal relations into their daily life and education. They will discuss their capacity for growth and then communicate their progress and development with those who matter most. Each family will decide for themselves how to be appropriately vulnerable, operate as a unit, and work in family councils. Families will decide together how and how often to communicate with their relations

Much of the work of family building will be done within each individual family unit. But imagine for a moment the power that can come by being part of a group of families as well. What if your group decided to combine forces on meal planning, for example. Each family could take one day every week where they prepare a large enough meal for all four families. That means there are three days a week where each family doesn’t have to worry about meal preparation and can focus on other goals. This could also create a social opportunity to engage, or a combined group effort to form healthier habits. 

Educational experiences are also enhanced by multiple perspectives. Four families will be able to run simulations that a single family wouldn’t have the bandwidth for. Educational topics will be broadened by the experiences of those outside of your immediate family circle. 

Finances can be a point of tension in family relationships, but in a group of four, families will have people they trust to go to for advice and an outside perspective. Families could also decide to share costs and resources as appropriate. 

The closer the group of families grows, the more they can support each other. The groups of four provide friendship and perspective through critical growth periods. In the New Vista and city plat models (discussed in chapter 10), these groups of families can even choose to live in close proximity for more immediate support and interaction. 

If families can strengthen themselves and strengthen the families they work with, they will be able to take the place of the institutions that are stalling or crumbling around them. We have grown dependent on specialists, educators, media, retirement homes, and the entertainment industry, which have all proven unreliable. Stable families can provide better value without the pitfalls of these unreliable institutions. 

Family Academy and the John and Abigail Center

The Family Academy deals with two major questions: 

1. What does the family need to be successful?
2. What does a successful society need the family to be?

The relationship between the Academy and the Center for Social Change can also be framed by these two questions. 

First, the Academy will provide support to help families be successful. The Academy and partner organizations will provide forms and procedures to help families get started and stay connected. Social entrepreneurs will create content on family best practices and provide resources for success. The Center will provide ways for families to connect with other families and form their groups of four. They will also promote observability by providing a place for family units to tell stories, find templates, and find solutions that are highly rated. 

Second, the Center needs the family to be stable. When it is working well, the family unit is the most stabilizing force in society. Individuals in highly-functioning families are more grounded, more highly educated, and more capable of producing positive social change. Communities made up of stable families have more capacity to change for the better because they are able to adapt quickly to new and better ways of doing things. Groups of stable families also add diversity and unique value to their community.

Society is only as strong as its families. If we can get this piece right, true social change can follow.

Next up—Chapter 8: Hearts to Children

Comments, questions, suggestions? Let us know on the post.

If you’re interested in joining the mastermind group or launch team for the John and Abigail Center or any of the partner organizations, contact us.