I kept hearing about NORY all winter, and wondered what it was. As the website explains, it’s “a new convenient way to connect your child with talented educators who provide unique and short-term classes.” This seems kind of perfect. After all, isn’t everything “extracurricular” in our world tailor-made now (Uber, Seamless, etc.)? Many parents cannot stand the feeling of being locked in to a schedule (and its bill) for an entire season of a particular art or sport. I contacted the founders of NORY, Matthew Trainor and Peter Seo, and asked them a few questions to try and understand what it’s all about. Their classes are pay-as-you-go and extremely unique- which is what we want in a city like New York. Already a Manhattan staple, they are now in Brooklyn (with cool classes like “Personal Privacy and Safety: Body Awareness for 5-7 y.o.,” “Fun with Food for 2-4 y.o.,” “Tennis Remixed for 3-4 y.o. and 5-6 y.o.,”). I knew you would all be interested in reading a little more, so here it is… ~Rebecca Conroy, Editor of A Child Grows in Brooklyn
What are the philosophies behind the kind of learning you offer?
We believe innovation is born when multiple intelligences converge, e.g. when design meets technology, or physics meets philosophy. As innovation drives the future, our children are expected to be well-rounded, which begins from their inner motivation to learn new things. We founded NORY with the mission to expose children to a variety of experiences. As they have new experiences, they will discover their interests, talents, and most importantly, the joy of learning.
What do children in NYC have to choose from within the NORY curriculum, and- more importantly- what led you to create all of these various classes?
We always ask ourselves “what’s missing?” During our initial market research, a mom told us, “it’s hard to find something different. It seems like all NYC classes for young toddlers are the same – music, art, movement and language.” We agreed. We ask parents, kids and teachers to identify what’s missing in the sphere of “well-rounded” learning opportunities. For example, we consider entrepreneurship a very important topic but not many teach this. Currently, we are creating an entrepreneurship program,”The World’s Coolest Lemonade Cart Project.”
Do you have opinions one way or another about taking children to classes at such young ages, the way we parents in Brooklyn all tend to do?
Compared to Manhattan, we are always amazed by the creativity and uniqueness of class offerings in Brooklyn. Even the children’s classes are hip in Brooklyn! I love how the city’s culture of creativity and diversity impacts the early childhood enrichment/education. Speaking of timing, we think the earlier the better – with some exception of extremes (once, a mom requested an art class for an 11-week-old (not month). However, the efficiency of classes for younger than 2 years old can be very low, in terms of the outcome. There’s nothing magical about baby classes. Most activities are simple enough for any parent to replicate at home. We encourage parents to learn how to teach the subject matter during the class to allow for reinforcement at home.
How many children within a class make it too large? What’s the ideal class size?
Each class has a different ideal size; it really depends on the nature of the activity as well as the age range. Some classes benefit from a smaller size and others from a larger size.
Why are you and Peter experts in classes/education?
Peter: I’ve observed more than 200 classes taught by 80 teachers this year alone. As I learn about a number of teaching techniques and class ideas, I can provide customized suggestions for each educator based on their teaching style.
Matt: I taught English for over 5 years. As well as teaching, I also trained incoming teachers, and helped refine lesson plans.
Tell us about the developmental stages of early childhood, and the most important things parents can do for their young children in NYC…
1. Try not to compare your child with other children
2. Spend more time and resources on soft skills (empathy, grit, responsibility, self-control, curiosity etc.) over hard skills.
NORY provides NYC’s most unique learning experiences for young children, such as Natural Botanical Dye on Silk Scarves, Hula Dance, Magic and many more. NORY carefully vets and selects talented educators to gift whole new experiences to children. Its Founders, Peter Seo and Matthew Trainor, have incredible backgrounds (and are both parents of young children). Matthew Trainor, the co-founder and CMO of NORY, holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Boston College. Matthew taught English for more than five years, including a year in half in Taiwan. Peter Seo, co-founder and CEO of NORY, is a serial entrepreneur who creates social impact by connecting the dots. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University. He founded and ran a social venture called BRIDGE, to increase cross-sector collaboration in Korea. With diverse experiences in the consulting, media, nonprofit and public finance industry in New York, Peter felt the need for an intermediary organization that connects resources to solve social problems in Korea, which sparked the launch of BRIDGE. During his tenure at BRIDGE, he was selected as BMW Foundation’s Global Fellow, representing South Korea.