We just went through a wild year. And that is putting it lightly. A pandemic, everything that goes with the pandemic, civil unrest, a riling election, climate disasters, you name it. Weren’t there also aliens at some point? And here we are now, in 2021, still going through it. We’ve all been going through it in our own individual ways … Read More
Time Well Spent
I have to be honest. There was a period when my kids were younger that I just didn’t feel like playing with them, ever. I was going through big ordeals in my life and the thought of making slime or playing Barbies didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. In fact, it felt downright torturous, and every time I promised … Read More
The Conveyor Belt to Success
Around this time of year twenty-three years ago, I was a senior in high school fretting about applying to college. The whole process was intimidating, but what plagued me the most was that I didn’t know what I wanted to study. I didn’t know that because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and I didn’t … Read More
Going Down the Rabbit Hole of Learning
When I describe the Learning Cooperatives as a self-directed education center, it’s not uncommon for people to need more of an explanation. Truthfully though, it’s as simple as it sounds. We are a center that encourages self-direction in education. But what does that look like? I’ve been attending some of the Black Lives Matter protests, where we are asked to … Read More
Weaning Teens (Off Dependency)
We all know someone whose maturity, for no apparent medical reason, is stunted somewhere in adolescence. It may be a friend, a coworker, maybe even a parent. This person may be attention-seeking, self-centered, irresponsible, people-pleasing, prone to tantrums, or simply unrealized. How is it that the body matures without a hiccup, but the mind doesn’t always follow? The body grows … Read More
A Skatepark is the Best Kind of Classroom
In our last blog post, Katy talked about the challenges of growing up and how we can help kids take risks. The example she gave was about how ordering something from the deli counter can be terribly intimidating, but at some point you have to step up and do it. But of course, the point is not that we want … Read More
The Trouble with Growing Up
Growing up is supposed to be this natural part of life that happens to everyone, but it doesn’t feel natural at all. One year, you’re too young for something, and the next you’re expected to know how to do it…but you don’t.
Getting Back to the Garden
Natural curiosity, love, and a fertile environment are enough to allow the growth of an intelligent and happy young being who walks and talks and, by playing, continues to learn.
The Importance of Ketchup Strategy and Donkey Kong
As a mentor at The Learning Cooperatives, in addition to helping teens identify personal goals and pursue the things they’re interested in. But as important as trying to figure out the subject or content areas they’re interested in, I also look for what Barbara Sher, in her book Wishcraft, calls their “touchstone.”
Credit, Credibility, and Sausage
If a person doesn’t go to school, how will future employers know that he or she is capable of the work at hand?