Announcing The JW Foundation

The JW Foundation is dedicated to helping teachers, parents, and educational institutions nurture the unique potential of children and young adults. Our mission is to help students discover a creative, resilient passion for learning while embracing and overcoming challenges. We will facilitate this experience through the philosophy, ideas and techniques of Josh Waitzkin as described in The Art of Learning.


From Josh Waitzkin:

If I have learned anything in a lifetime of world-class competition, it is that learners and performers thrive when their growth process is uniquely tailored to their own personal nuance of character. Teachers must listen first. Students should gain a keen introspective awareness of their natural strengths and weaknesses, and build a game, a career, a way of life around that awareness. In my careers in chess and the martial arts, and in my life as a teacher, I have seen too many learners—both adults and children--jammed into cookie cutter molds into which they just don’t fit. The result is a brittle, unsatisfying relationship to the growth process.

My philosophy of learning is based on maximizing each individual’s unique potential. Through The JW Foundation, it is my intention to reach out to as many children as possible, inspiring resilience, creativity, and a passion for the road to mastery. My systematic methodology for achieving this aim is the subject of my book The Art of Learning.

I have been approached by numerous educational groups who want to put the philosophy of The Art of Learning at the center of their organization. It is my intention, with the JW Foundation, to help that process. I will focus on public school systems, urban youth centers, “Gifted” Organizations, Teachers Groups, Parenting Groups, Psychological Institutions, etc. In time, we will develop a comprehensive online learning environment that will be a resource for teachers, parents, and students alike. While the top priority of The JW Foundation will be under-served communities, it is my ambition to support all children, teens, and young adults on their unique paths to excellence.

If you would like to become involved with the JW Foundation, please write to joshwaitzkin.web@gmail.com.