Alpine Valley School Podcast

Students at self-directed democratic schools like Alpine Valley School and others, have significant freedom. In many ways they can "do what they want" all day long. However, that freedom must be balanced with responsibility - a concept that founder and staff member Larry Welshon discusses in this engaging talk. This speech was originally given at a sister school, Glacier Lake in Montana, as part of their recent fundraising efforts, and it covers a lot of ground. Find out by what age most kids have dropped out of school, how Larry first discovered the alternative schooling movement, and more on this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast.

Want more?

• Support our friends at Glacier Lake School in Montana.

• Watch the original video this talk came from.

• Read a related blog post: Freedom Does Not Mean Doing Whatever You Want

• Watch a video interview with Sudbury Valley School co-founder Mimsy Sadofsky (who is mentioned in Larry's talk)

• Listen to a former student talk about how freedom shaped her life as a young person.

• Send us your questions, suggestions, and feedback at [email protected]

This episode is also available in video format on YouTube.

"How do I start a self-directed democratic school in my area?" On this episode, staff and founder Larry Welshon lends his twenty-plus years of experience to tackling this question and provides concrete guidance for individuals who are looking to begin the founding journey.

Want more?

• Visit Alpine Valley School and begin your founding journey with our help and support.

• Read a blog post about the founding of a Self-Directed Democratic School from Sudbury Valley School

• Look over the Planning Kit from Sudbury Valley School (used by many founding groups)

• Check out this blog post from Alternatives To School: Options for Families Without Democratic Schools

• Watch a video from Circle School staff member & founder Jim Rietmulder

• Help the diverse Alpine Valley School community continue to thrive by making a pledge to our annual fundraising campaign!

• Send us your questions, suggestions, and feedback at [email protected]

This episode is also available in video format on YouTube.

Read a transcript of the episode and find out more on the Show Notes page.

Funny, insightful, and unexpected, this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast features our graduate's favorite stories. Hear about surprising adventures to the mall, the Asteroid Game, becoming School Meeting Chair, and much more as our alumni take a trip down memory lane.

Want more?

• Watch a video featuring an alumni panel at Alpine Valley School: Ready for Anything

• Check out this documentary all about self-directed education: Self-Taught

• Watch an interview with alumni from other schools about going to college.

• Listen to another podcast focused on self-directed education: The Education Revolution

• Read a blog post from Sudbury Valley School about the lives of alumni.

• Read an article about bullying (or, more accurately, its absence) at Sudbury Schools.

This episode is also available in video format on YouTube.

Send us your questions, suggestions, and feedback at [email protected]

Support Alpine Valley School when you shop online by using Amazon Smile!

Just like the grown ups who love them, children are hungry for meaningful work. They want to take on jobs that have real meaning and make a significant contribution. Learn how self-directed democratic education, like we practice at Alpine Valley School in Colorado, allows all students to try on elected positions with actual responsibility. Hear how one graduate went from banging erasers together to running the most important meeting in the school - and more - on this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast. Check out the show notes page for more information.

This episode is also available in video format on YouTube.

Want more?

• Support Alpine Valley School by using Amazon Smile when you shop online!
• Check out our Facebook page for details on all upcoming events.
• Read the original blog post from this episode: Give Kids Real Jobs
• Send in a question or comment for our upcoming Q&A episode: [email protected]
• Listen to another "real life" episode: Judicial Committee in the Real World.
• Watch a video about how School Meeting operates at Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts.

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email or a voice memo to: [email protected]

We'll be back again soon with more stories of real learning for real life.

Alpine Valley School

www.alpinevalleyschool.com

Wheat Ridge, CO USA

In this final episode of our Core Learning podcast series, our guest Bruce Smith talks about how students at self-directed democratic schools learn math. Bruce has decades of experience as a staff member in self-directed education, and has worked at several different schools around the US. While at Alpine Valley School, he was the resident math teacher and he outlines how the language of numbers shows up in student's daily lives and how classes, when they happen, are structured. You can listen to the rest of the Core Learning series here.

Full show notes page: alpinevalleyschool.com/podcast/ep38

Also available on YouTube.

Listen to the full (un-edited) interview.

Want more?

• Send us your questions for a chance to be featured on the show and to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of "When Kids Rule the School"!

• Listen to another interview with Bruce Smith on our show

• Listen to the rest of the Core Learning series (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic)

• Watch video interviews with students and staff at another democratic school all about how they learn math

• Read an article about learning math from a sister school of ours in upstate New York

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email (or a voice memo!) at: [email protected]

Don't miss a single episode! Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you always get the latest and greatest self-directed educational resources delivered right to your inbox!

What sorts of careers do the students of self-directed democratic education have? How do they stand out in a competitive job market without grades or transcripts? These are the questions we tackle on episode 37 of the Alpine Valley School podcast. With the help of a panel of Alpine Valley School graduates, host Marc Gallivan explores the career options available to Sudbury school students as well as the outstanding contributions our graduates make once they enter the workforce.

Also available on YouTube.

Want more?

• Read more about the lives of alumni directly from Sudbury Valley School (the original)

• Watch a video interview with a group of Alpine Valley School graduates and parents

• Hear more Frequently Asked Questions answered by a panel of AVS graduates

• Read a blog post about how our graduates go out into the workforce: An Alpine Valley School Resume

• Watch a TED Talk about how happiness makes everything in our work lives better

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email at: [email protected]

Don't miss a single episode! Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you always get the latest and greatest self-directed educational resources delivered right to your inbox!

We're continuing our "core skills" series (which we started with Learning to Read) by discussing how students at a self-directed democratic school learn the essential skill of writing. We're joined on this episode by AVS graduates Jesse and Vanessa who talk about how the extensive communication they engaged in at school translated into their adult lives as interesting communication careers. We all know written communication is foundational, and you can find out how our students engage with, and find their passion for, the written word on this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast!

Also available on YouTube.

Want more?

• Hear Jesse and Vanessa share more of their personal journeys on their individual podcast episodes.

• Watch a video about the 3 R's (reading, writing, arithmetic) in Sudbury Schooling.

• Read a blog post about how the skills learned at self-directed democratic schools translate into real-world job experience.

• Hear from another set of Alpine Valley School graduates about how they learned to read at our school.

• Read an article from Sudbury Valley School about how students at Sudbury schools go on to college.

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email at: [email protected]

Many find it hard to believe, but children at self-directed democratic schools do learn how to read, largely without any adult intervention. On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we hear from two graduates who learned this essential skill - from video games. Listen now and hear how these articulate adults address the all-important subject of learning to read!

Also available on YouTube.

Want more?

• Read a blog post from Dr. Peter Gray: Children Teach Themselves to Read

• Listen to a podcast episode all about Video Games

• Watch a video about how students at Sudbury Schools learn to read

• Hear from a group of AVS graduates about their experiences learning at our school

• Listen to another podcast episode with Lisa Mancuso all about creativity

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email at: [email protected]

At a recent event at our sister school (Hudson Valley Sudbury School in New York), Wendi Piper told her story about how self-directed democratic education has changed her family's life. She started by asking the bold question, "If our daughter died tomorrow, would we be happy with how she had lived?" We share her answer, along with the full story of her family's journey, on this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast.

Also available on YouTube.

Want more?

• Watch the original video this talk came from

• Watch more videos by Hudson Valley Sudbury School

• Read a blog post about the power of being truly seen

• Listen to a podcast episode featuring a bunch of current Alpine Valley School students

• Read an article about the ways in which we go wrong trying to educate children with special needs

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email at: [email protected]

What is it like to parent a child while they are enrolled at an alternative school as free as Alpine Valley School? What struggles do dads experience as their child grows up in this environment, taking responsibility for their own lives? On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we find out firsthand from three dads whose children were enrolled at our school. They open up about their journey to Alpine Valley School as well as the struggles and triumphs they have experienced along the way. It's all about fatherhood on episode 33 of the Alpine Valley School Podcast!

Also available on YouTube.

Want more?

• Read an article by a father whose child is enrolled at one of our sister schools entitled "I'm Not Afraid Anymore"

• Listen to another panel interview, this time by Moms of Alpine Valley School students!

• Watch a video by one of our parents entitled "What Every Parent Wants for Their Child"

• Read a blog post by an unschooling parent thanking her children for all the gifts.

• Listen to a one-on-one interview with AVS parent Aaron Cure.

Get in touch with the show! Send us an email at: [email protected]