Erik Shonstrom
Author, Wild Curiosity
Erik Shonstrom is the author of Wild Curiosity: How to Unleash Creativity and Encourage Lifelong Wondering from Rowman & Littlefield. Wild Curiosity explores the relationship between curiosity and learning, and examines ways in which curiosity can be mobilized in and out of school. Erik has written for The Essay Daily, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Education Week, and Children & Nature Network. Erik's employment history is a rather rambling affair. He's been a small-town Vermont newspaper reporter, environmental consultant, cook, mentor for incarcerated youth, as well as worked in orchards pruning apple trees. But, mostly, he's been a teacher - pushing boundaries in education for nearly two decades. He currently resides in Burlington, VT with his family. He teaches writing at Champlain College.
Erik Shonstrom has worked for 20 years in education; teaching in independent, charter and public schools. Currently, Erik, is a professor of rhetoric and interdisciplinary studies at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.
Erik’s path in education, took a course, different from others; he's been a small-town Vermont newspaper reporter, environmental consultant, cook, mentor for incarcerated youth, as well as worked in orchards pruning apple trees. But, mostly, he's been a teacher - pushing boundaries in education. At 19 he became an Outward Bound instructor, guiding youth at risk on 30 day river trips in Florida. He taught students while clinging to cliffs in Joshua Tree National Park; swimming frigid rivers in the High Sierra; snorkeling jellyfish infested waters off Mexico; paddling tippy kayaks amid the orcas of Puget Sound; trudging up narrow trails in the Adirondacks; and, occasionally, in the classroom.
Much of his life and educational experience led him to Author, Wild Curiosity: How to Unleash Creativity and Encourage Lifelong Wondering, which explores the relationship between curiosity and learning, and examines ways in which curiosity can be mobilized in and out of school. His second book (released; Nov. 2017), The Indoor Epidemic: Why Parents, Teachers, and Kids Need to Start an Outdoor Revolution, is an accessible, readable book that educators, parents, policy makers, and general readers can use to develop an in-depth understanding of the role the outdoors has played in our evolutionary and cultural history—and how it affects their own daily life. Currently, Erik is working on his third book which explores how mind-body approaches to learning can be used in schools.
Erik has written articles for The Chronicle of Higher Education and Education Week, and his writing has been featured in Forbes Magazine and on NPR.
Erik holds a Master in Fine Arts from Bennington College.
Erik’s path in education, took a course, different from others; he's been a small-town Vermont newspaper reporter, environmental consultant, cook, mentor for incarcerated youth, as well as worked in orchards pruning apple trees. But, mostly, he's been a teacher - pushing boundaries in education. At 19 he became an Outward Bound instructor, guiding youth at risk on 30 day river trips in Florida. He taught students while clinging to cliffs in Joshua Tree National Park; swimming frigid rivers in the High Sierra; snorkeling jellyfish infested waters off Mexico; paddling tippy kayaks amid the orcas of Puget Sound; trudging up narrow trails in the Adirondacks; and, occasionally, in the classroom.
Much of his life and educational experience led him to Author, Wild Curiosity: How to Unleash Creativity and Encourage Lifelong Wondering, which explores the relationship between curiosity and learning, and examines ways in which curiosity can be mobilized in and out of school. His second book (released; Nov. 2017), The Indoor Epidemic: Why Parents, Teachers, and Kids Need to Start an Outdoor Revolution, is an accessible, readable book that educators, parents, policy makers, and general readers can use to develop an in-depth understanding of the role the outdoors has played in our evolutionary and cultural history—and how it affects their own daily life. Currently, Erik is working on his third book which explores how mind-body approaches to learning can be used in schools.
Erik has written articles for The Chronicle of Higher Education and Education Week, and his writing has been featured in Forbes Magazine and on NPR.
Erik holds a Master in Fine Arts from Bennington College.
Topics:
- Living in the Land of Wonder and Learning to Love It
- The Radical Power of Curiosity and How to Embrace It
- The Indoor Epidemic
Looking for a speaker? Let us help you.
All fields are required.