Josh Thomas in Charlotte Magazine

Josh Thomas, Principal at Topics Education, was recently interviewed by Charlotte Magazine for their "Genius Issue" where they profiled 55 ideas and innovators in the city. Josh was featured for his advocacy around getting kids outside. He sees unstructured outside play as a good way for youth to lead healthy lifestyles and develop their character as well as cultivate an appreciation for nature, so they can grow up to be the next stewards of our natural environment.

You can read the full article, here.

Here are some good nuggets from the interview:

Simplicity is undervalued. Staring at a masterpiece for forty-five minutes is not that dissimilar from staring at a still lake, or at a hawk flying overhead. Both of those things are really simple; there's not a lot of skill involved. You don't have to be a trained artist to understand that Da Vinci was a master. And you don't have to be a trained botanist to understand that those redwoods are pretty freaking awesome.

Organized sports can lead to more stress, not less. Especially for kids. I guess being outside can be stressful, too, if a swarm of bees attacks you. But that doesn't happen all that much.