There is a lot of talk about how traditional education is not always a good fit for every young person. What’s not talked about as much, but is absolutely true from my experience in the system, is that traditional education is not a good fit for many of the adults working there as well. Here’s the video of the TEDx … Read More
It’s Not a Mystery
Let me start with a simple fact: a lot of teenagers don’t like school. (Shocking, I know.) There are a lot of reasons for this, but one of the big ones is that many teens don’t feel like they have much say in their day-to-day lives — the work they do, who they interact with, their schedule. This lack of control … Read More
Well-Rounded?
In a blog post about misunderstandings, Seth Godin wrote this: And anyone who has been through high school has been reminded how important it is to be well-rounded. But Nobel Prize winners, successful NGO founders and just about everyone you admire didn’t get that way by being mediocre at a lot of things. It got me thinking. It’s nearly an … Read More
It’s Not Funny
If we had a “do-over” on the structure of schools, what would we create? What kinds of things would we focus on? The things on the left side of this image or the right? For most people, it’s a no-brainer—of course kids learn better under the conditions on the left, and these are the things we profess to believe in. … Read More
Not Back to School
It’s “Back to School” time! For many young people this is exciting—reconnecting with friends, new classes, new teachers, new opportunities. For some though, as August fades into September the sweet feeling of freedom gives way to a rising sense of dread at the prospect of another school year: the homework, the boredom, the sound of the alarm at that ungodly … Read More
The Mythologist
In March, PLC hosted a talk by professional mythologist, Richard Schwab. Not only was I delighted to learn that there actually are professional mythologists, I found much of what Richard had to say to be profoundly connected to the work that we do with young people. Some of my favorites: Taking control. He spoke about the lack of initiation rites for … Read More
Deschooling
What happens when a young person stops attending school? Uncertainty. Panic. Teens and their parents wonder: are we doing the right thing? can this really work? what will everyone think? are we risking future success and happiness? For those of us who have had a traditional education, the idea that learning and growth can happen in any other way than … Read More
Screens All Day?
One of the most anxiety-producing, despair-inducing, frustration-creating aspects of self-directed and noncoercive learning is the fear among adults that kids left to their own devices will do nothing but play video games…or watch YouTube…or go through season after season of shows on Netflix, or…fill in the blank. And that too much of these things, unlike other activities kids choose to … Read More
Fear, Ballet and Magic
Let me explain how this video happened. That’s right – it’s me taking a ballet lesson from our fabulous member Kennedy. For folks who know me, the sight of me doing ballet is as equally surprising as a third ear growing out of my forehead.