The Importance of Ketchup Strategy and Donkey Kong

Scott GallagherUncategorized

serving of french fries with ketchup on top

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.”

A Dumping Ground?

Joel HammonUncategorized

All of the members and staff in our weekly all group meeting

The idea that if kids aren’t in a traditional school something must be wrong with them is pervasive. This is demonstrably not true, but it is a powerful idea in our country.

Not Your Typical Article on Childhood Play

Katy BurkeUncategorized

Katys barbie pool from when she was a girl, 1988

We value play for the experiential learning…learning about the external world and how to interact with others. This is true and noteworthy, but I wonder about the value of play as a form of self expression and self-discovery.

The Myth of Teenage Rebellion

Katy BurkeUncategorized

On the last day before summer break a PLC teen wrote: "I can write whatever I want here because its too late in the year for them to kick me out." And then continues with non-curse words: Heck, Golly, Darn, Gee, Fudge, Dang.

One hundred years ago, teenagers didn’t exist. There wasn’t a dearth of thirteen- to nineteen-year-olds of course, but, generally, they were called “children” or “adults.” Today, “adolescence” is its own animal.

Getting Through “The Dip”

Joel HammonUncategorized

Two boys sitting on a couch at PLC, one leaning forward with two thumbs up, the other lounging back

In a perfect world, young people would choose self-directed education, figure out what they want to do with their lives, use their time well, make progress…and all the rest. But real life is more messy than that.

Gym Class and Motivation

Scott GallagherUncategorized

homemade cardboard boat racing through river rapids

As an English teacher in public school for 17 years, I always felt frustrated by, and a little jealous of, the Phys Ed. teachers. Phys. Ed. class seemed to be a kind of outlier in school, and the teachers were able to operate in a value system totally different from the rest of school. I wished the value system of … Read More

A Question of Motivation

Katy BurkeUncategorized

View up the side of a cliff in the Adirondacks, NY

The Story In this post, we return to our fabled twin teenagers, Kelly and Collin. These two have much in common—same age, same upbringing, shared friends, shared good looks, even a shared problem: getting their first jobs, a teenage rite of passage. However, in the past few weeks, their parents realized that the teens’ shared problem stems from different roots, … Read More