The peaceful school

“You must be so patient.” If I have heard that once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. I must be so patient. Patient to homeschool my kids. What is patience anyway? According to Wikipedia patience is “the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on [...]

Education for a green society

There is a strong connection between the business world and the modern institution of schooling. Historians of education have explained how schools as we know them were profoundly shaped by the influence of business leaders and by educators who adopted theories and techniques from the economic realm of society. Many major turning points, new initiatives, [...]

How to listen and how to be heard

Do you really want a dead cat on your desk?” When a teacher took a parent’s phone call at the end of another busy school day, she was taken aback by the question. She couldn’t figure out why a first grader in her class came home telling his mother that their recently deceased family pet [...]

The lifelong journey

It was a cloudy day in April, 2004. It was cloudy in my mind. And storm clouds were brewing over my son as he refused to write his name on his painting. I knew the path we were traveling was getting weedy and we needed to find another way. We are now extremely happy with [...]

Toward participatory democracy

As I pursued research for my book on the 1960s-era free school movement, I came across numerous references to the notion of “participatory democracy” as an alternative to modern political ideologies and practices. (1) Many of the young activists who formed SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and other radical groups during that period of [...]

A history lesson and survival guide for young people during the decline of America

If you’re an American teen or young adult, you’re a pioneer. You may not think of yourself as a pioneer, and you may not relish the idea of being a pioneer, but that seems to be the role that history has in mind for you. Many Americans sense that America is in deep trouble. People [...]

Empowering children’s interests without excessive interference

Alexa began creating a village when she was seven years old. She liked to build tiny houses out of sticks and leaves in the backyard, something she particularly enjoyed doing when her friends came over. Together they made up stories about the tiny people who would move in. Alexa was frustrated when wind and rain [...]

Choosing my kids over public education

My husband Phil and I were both educated in the public school system. He came from a very impoverished family and decided at a young age that getting himself into a good college was going to be the key for him to get out of that difficult life. My family was solidly working class and [...]

Reflecting on spirituality in education

Early in my career, I attempted to define the place of spirituality in holistic education: A basic premise of holistic education is the belief that our lives have a meaning and purpose greater than the mechanistic laws described by science, and greater than the ‘consensus consciousness’ of any one culture. This transcendent purpose is a [...]

How the 10,000 hour rule benefits us

If you haven’t heard about the 10,000 Hour Rule, you’re probably busy doing what people do. Living life on your own terms. Malcolm Gladwell identified this 10,000 hour maxim in his book, Outliers. The rule has to do with attaining Big Time Success. Based on Anders Ericsson’s analysis of people who reached the top of [...]

Recent News

2/3/12 weekly link round-up

Links from the past few days: REFORMS DON’T HELP “HER” KIDS URBAN HOMESCHOOLING NOGUERA QUITS IDEA MAKES MATCH – We’d like to congratulate our sister organization, the Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA), for reaching $150,000 in donations, enabling them to qualify for a $100.000 grant from the Bay and Paul Foundation.

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Howard Rheingold’s speech regarding online education and collaboration

In a new paradigm where open course software is available and knowledge from around the world is accessible at our fingertips, Howard Rheingold delves into online collaboration where self-directed learners are collaborating to share knowledge and educate each other. How do you use social media? What if we contributed an educational video or blog post? [...]

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Thinkers and leaders’ words on education

A compilation of quotes from such great minds as Einstein and Twain, sharing words of wisdom on how school and education are not the only path. It is up to the individual to learn. Do you think that a one model school can be hindering to individuals? What about individuals that learn differently?

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Executive Director of the Trillium Charter School, Portland, OR

Job Description: Executive Director Trillium Charter School (TCS) is in its 10th year of operation. TCS serves students from all parts of Portland, Oregon, through an open lottery enrollment. Students are actively involved learners building a personal knowledge of the world around them through action, experience, and reflection. The educational philosophies center on contextual teaching/learning [...]

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Unschooling documentary with student accounts of experiences

A documentary created by Lillian Mauser-Carter interviewing several families of self-directed students and their experiences in alternative education and schooling. A first person look at how unschoolers succeed in self-directed learning. What are some obstacles that society puts on unschoolers? What ways do they rise above them?

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1/30/12 weekly link round-up

Interesting stuff from the past few days, all similarly youth-initiated: Universal Studios responded to a 50,000-strong petition on Change.org created by a fourth grade class urging Universal to promote the environmental message central to the story of the ‘Lorax’, by Dr. Seuss, on the website for their upcoming film. Last month, the nine- and ten-year-olds [...]

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A look at Givol – a democratic school in the poorer region of Givat Olga in Israel

A region where violence and danger would be the most common, is a safe heaven for the children of that area. Why? Because of Givol, a democratic school that allows students to study and practice what they are most passionate about. The activities keep the students occupied, so the danger and violence that seem to [...]

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Lead Middle School Teacher for Mountain Sun Community School, North Carolina

We are seeking a creative teacher with a pioneering spirit to serve as our lead middle school teacher. We are a small non-profit independent school that was founded by a parent committee in August 2008.  We have grown from a 16 students in a 3-6 yr old classroom to 50 students in preschool through 6th [...]

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Parents and the new paradigm

When our philosophy necessitates a change in the way we view the world, we call it a paradigm shift. Our [...]

A dent in the sofa

Pouring a cup of instant coffee, looking over the kitchen counter into my living room, I suddenly saw it. On [...]

Finding the work-life balance is all about trust

I’ve been hearing about companies that don’t limit time off for their employees. They are expected to simply get their [...]

Philosophical sources of holistic education

In American social and intellectual history, the period between 1960 and 1980 will always be recognized as a significant cultural [...]

Benefits of boredom

Over the centuries, many religions and philosophers (not to mention mothers!) have feared and even damned boredom. My mother, prompted [...]

Unschooling as a feminist act

When I was a young mother, I wore a t-shirt with the words: “The hand that rocks the cradle rocks [...]

A life of learning

For the past 40 years, I have had a vision of a world where children and young people are equal [...]

Interference

This morning, as I walked through the harborside park near my home, I watched a mother and her young child [...]

Educating the child’s inner power

The original meaning of the word “education,” according to its Latin roots, is to lead out or bring forth that [...]

Education for a culture of peace

I am continually astounded and dismayed by the persistence of murderous violence in the world. Humanity seems to be trapped [...]

Lazy learning

Few things seem to trouble parents more than the possibility our kids might be lazy. I guess it’s the legacy [...]

Ten signs you need a different kind of education for your child

Many parents don’t realize that the education world has changed drastically since they were in school. Schools and class sizes [...]