Inspired by Innovation: My Journey in Education

In sixth grade, I once boldly proposed an idea to my stressed teacher, Mr. Olsen. The class was disruptive, with students out of their seats and not paying attention. "Mr. Olsen, maybe we should all make a ton of noise for 5 minutes straight. I bet we’d calm down afterward," I suggested confidently. "My dad said it's a good way to get everyone to be quiet."

There were other classes just beyond our thin accordion walls.

“That’s probably a good idea, Kirsten, but the other teachers would be really upset,” he responded patiently.

I rarely offered suggestions to my teachers, but I remember this moment clearly with Mr. Olsen, one of my favorites. He seemed to listen to us more than other teachers, allowing us to make some decisions and treating us more like equals.

My father, Larry M. Arnoldsen, was an education professor at Brigham Young University. He often shared stories at the dinner table about his teaching experiences in Lompoc, California, as a Social Studies specialist in Idaho, and later at BYU, where he taught future educators.

His stories highlighted his unconventional teaching methods, which centered on student interests and omitted homework and tests. Instead, his students graded themselves. He documented these experiences in a book, with many stories published in magazines and education journals. He encouraged his students to question everything. On his first day teaching 9th grade Geography, he asked, “What would happen if the Earth tilted 5 degrees more on its axis?” In a U.S. History class, he tailored the curriculum to students' interests, whether it was fashion or aviation, helping them find relevant books and creating projects they would present and grade themselves.

Throughout his career, he faced skepticism from some educational colleagues about his methods. However, he amassed a loyal following among his students and the families he counseled on educating their own children. He became well-known in homeschooling circles in Utah and to some extent, nationally as someone to listen to on the subject of home education in particular. As a professor, he offered a unique course on alternative education, including homeschooling, aiming to bridge the gap between public schools and the homeschooling community. This was the only course of its kind in the nation during the 1980s and 90s.

Inspired by him, I decided to pursue a degree in education, majoring in Social Studies with a focus on Anthropology, History, and Geography. During college, I got married and began homeschooling my children. After my last son was born in 2012, he attended a Montessori charter school until second grade, when COVID-19 hit, and he has been homeschooled since then. At that time, I was also teaching at Lumen Scholar Institute, an online charter school, where I taught grades 6 through 10. My subjects included U.S. History, Utah History, World Geography, World History, Ancient Civilizations, Character Education, Historical Texts, Humanities, and Learning Skills.

But the main ideas for my school came from a class I attended in high school called Unified Studies. It changed my life.