About Us
Our Staff
History of Otolith Education
Otolith Education formed in the late summer of 2007 by Joanna (Jo) Walls, Gabe Finkelstein, Cari McDonald and Kyle F. Bissell. Coincidently, all of the founders had enjoyed dreaming of starting a school some day and were all experiencing a strong desire to implement adventure education based programs for people. In less than 3 weeks, the organization was developed.
What Is An Otolith?
Otoliths are a highly sensitive and significant organ found in the ears of most vertebrates. Pronounced "otilith", the word stems from the roots "oto", meaning ear, and "lithos", meaning stone. In people, otolithic organs allow us to be balanced and provide us with a sense of direction. In fish, otoliths are used for sensing depth, gravity, and initiating movement. Fish otoliths, like spider webs and tree stumps, consist of concentric circles which can be used to measure daily growth. Otolith Education, like the organ, supports balance, direction, depth, gravity, forward movement, and growth.
On Education
“Education is not only a succession of experiences with a certified teacher in a classroom setting where learning is supposed to take place. The very words “life long learning” lead me to view the traditional classroom setting as one very specialized setting within a broader spectrum of settings. I have come to define education as an experience, or series of experiences, that when engaged in and reflected upon in ways that promote connection with the past and present, as well as transference to the future, stimulate a cognitive, affective or physical shift. In addition to having experiences that are reflected upon, guided mentorship, which utilizes a variety of facilitation methods and settings to meet the needs of the learning community, can increase the propensity for learning and mastery.”
~ Kyle Bissell, co-founder
