
About this episode
Lewis & Gemma spiral into a midsummer head-cold haze and ask, “What actually makes a good rite of passage?” From hot pennies hurled at peasants to Year-6 mortarboards, nothing is safe.
🤧 Lewis can’t remember life with two nostrils; Gemma’s hen snores on the stairs
🌓 Solstice rituals, Charlotte Church’s democratic-school idea & smashing down the bit you built
🎓 Primary-school “graduations” in robes – why? And why the two of us skipped our uni ceremonies
⚒️ Ceremony vs. genuine rite-of-passage (and when rewards wreck intrinsic motivation)
🐚 Artefacts that work – tickets, twigs, rope from a den, tiny memories you can hold
🔥 Scout badges, “wild passport” challenges & the problem of clapping the billhook users
💸 Honiton Hot Pennies festival: mediaeval “mock-the-poor” day still closing Devon roads
🎉 Do rites need to be enjoyable? First car crashes, doctors’ first patient death & driver’s licences
📅 Upcoming CPD days: storytelling/drama/music (Sept 1), outdoor cookery, whittling & more
00:00 – Nasal misery & hen-house bedtime
06:00 – Solstice chat & Charlotte Church’s build/smash classroom plan
11:00 – Tiny graduations, big discomfort
18:00 – Tickets, twigs & meaningful take-aways
24:00 – Ceremony ≠ rite of passage: Happy-Birthday paralysis, mortarboards, Scout badges
31:00 – Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation (and Alfie Kohn pops up again)
38:30 – Honiton Hot-Pennies history lesson
46:00 – Wrapping up + new CPD calendar
Rites of Passage · Ceremony · Outdoor Learning · Intrinsic Motivation · Artefacts · Scout Badges · Solstice · Hot Pennies · CPD
#ForestSchoolPodcast #RiteOfPassage #OutdoorLearning #CeremonyVsProcess #HotPennies
What’s the oddest or most meaningful rite-of-passage you’ve witnessed? Drop us a voice-note or email [email protected] and we’ll play a few next episode.
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