BHS Method
What is the BHS Method™?
The BHS Method™ is an educational methodology that empowers students to independently initiate learning, refine their understanding through guided instruction and trial-and-error, and achieve academic success by applying knowledge to real-world challenges. The BHS Method™ emphasizes the importance of relevant and impactful education, driven by skilled teachers who foster personal connections with students. The BHS Method™ encourages students to embrace challenges, engage in meaningful learning experiences, and apply their knowledge creatively. This educational methodology not only prepares students academically but also equips them with the resilience, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills needed to succeed in the real world, setting the foundation for lifelong growth and achievement.
BHS Method™: Build, Harvest, Succeed
In the BHS Method™, BHS stands for build, harvest, succeed.
B - Build
H - Harvest
S - Succeed
Build - fearlessly build it on your own quickly
Harvest - learn through teacher instruction, cyclical failure and fast improvements
Success - learn how to find solutions as the way to academic success
Origins of the BHS Method™
The BHS Method™ is derived from applying the principles of the "lean startup" concept to learning and teaching in school. See BHS Method™ for Startups. The lean startup methodology teaches that the best way to start a new business is by quickly building an imperfect product on your own first without outside support and then continually and quickly improving the product based on customer feedback and data testing to efficiently discover a scalable business model. Similarly, the BHS Method™ teaches students to fearlessly start the learning process independently and then to quickly harvest their learning through teacher instruction and applying newly acquired knowledge through continuous trial and error to effectively find solutions to problems and achieve academic success.
Who created the BHS Method™?
The foundation of the BHS Method™ was derived by Akida Mashaka, an American free-spirited entrepreneur from Los Angeles living in Barcelona, who believed that the principles of the lean startup methodology was the best way to learn and teach in school. Amanda Slefo, an award-winning Assyrian American teacher from Chicago, then refined the BHS Method™ to incorporate these principles as the pedagogy for Barcelona High School.
Akida Mashaka
Akida Mashaka is the founder of Barcelona High School. Akida is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He also graduated #1 in Psychology in his university class at Morehouse College. Akida adopted the lean startup methodology to start businesses in Barcelona, after learning about it from a friend, and fell in love with the effectiveness of the concept. As a parent living in Barcelona, Akida experienced seemingly unfixable problems with the schools. Akida soon discovered that these problems also existed in schools throughout the world, including in the United States. During Covid, these problems only got worse. Therefore, Akida decided to use the principles of the lean startup methodology as a modern pedagogy for learning in schools as well.
Amanda Slefo
Amanda Slefo is an award-winning teacher from Chicago at Evanston Township High School, ranked in the top 10% of high schools in the USA. Slefo turned Akida's vision of this innovative, although initially unproven, pedagogy into the revolutionary educational success that it is today. Slefo's initial role as Director at Barcelona High School involved overseeing educational learning, academic performance, and university placement. Slefo then became a Partner of Barcelona High School. As a Partner, Slefo continues to serve as Director and is a powerful inspiration and guide for students, parents and staff.
How does the BHS Method™ work?
Build
Start schoolwork independently and fearlessly to fail fast in order to learn even faster
Harvest
Learn through teacher coaching and continually testing learned knowledge to make informed conclusions
Succeed
Perform academically at your highest level through acquired knowledge (instead of rote memorization in traditional education)
Why is the BHS Method™ so successful?
The BHS Method™ is a revolutionary approach to education that actually delivers on its promise. Students learn better when they are given empowerment to attempt schoolwork initially on their own. This way they don't have a fear of failure and trying new things. Indeed, students learn to embrace failure because they discover that it's the best way to learn. The BHS Method™ teaches students to learn through applying things they've learned to find answers to problems instead of being lectured to from the moment they enter the classroom and being bored to death as is the case in traditional education.