Have you ever wondered how NWEF got started?

Today is Noah Webster Educational Foundation’s second birthday. In honor of that, we’re excited to have our host, Melvin Adams, switch seats and share his own story this week! Our content manager, Catherine,  joins him on the show this week to ask questions about Melvin’s life and the founding of NWEF. Melvin talks about his childhood in Africa, what it was like being homeschooled before homeschooling was popular, what led him to work in education, why he chose the name “Noah Webster,” and more. 

“When the citizens are empowered to make things better, they will get better. And it won’t just be based on the next election cycle. It’s going to be based on the community who live there and will continually work towards making things better for their own families, for their own communities. At the end of the day, that’s what makes a great country.” — Melvin Adams, founder and president of Noah Webster Educational Foundation

Here’s a quick recap:

  • Melvin’s childhood and education in East Africa, and what it was like being a missionary kid
  • His homeschool experience (before homeschooling was really a thing), and why he’s thankful his parents chose to teach him at home
  • Next, his high school experience attending a British school, exposure to many different nationalities, and what that taught him about different peoples’ lives and cultures
  • Melvin’s ambition to become a vet and his college life in America, which ultimately led to a deeper understanding of what his purpose in life was
  • What core principles took root in this stage of Melvin’s life?
  • How Melvin became interested in educational reform—from starting schools in Europe to coming home to the United States and seeing the downfall of American education
  • At what point does a person need to ask themselves if they’re going to ignore the problems or stand up and push back?
  • Melvin has started several nonprofits—what’s different about Noah Webster compared to the others?
  • Catherine and Melvin reflect on the past two years since NWEF started and some of the challenges and unexpected blessings that have come up
  • Melvin gives us a brief history lesson on the real Noah Webster and why he chose to honor him in the organization’s name
  • Finally, Catherine asks Melvin about concrete goals for NWEF moving forward

If you’d rather watch the video version of our podcast episodes, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified every Wednesday when new episodes launch. Here is today’s conversation with Melvin and Catherine:

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