Nick Bergson-Shilcock joins me this week! In a nutshell, Nick grew up unschooling and now runs the Recurse Center in New York. It’s a wonderful space for both new and experience programmers to take a sabbatical and vastly improve their programming skills. It was fascinating to hear the story of how the Recurse Center came to be and how it really has its roots unschooling.

Questions for Nick

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family?

What were some of your bigger interests growing up and how did you pursue them?

I’d love to hear the origin story behind the Recurse Center. Why did you want to start a company to help people learn more about programming?

Understanding that most people come from a background of traditional schooling and work environments, I would be really interested to hear how you guys give participants that space for the floundering but also help them get used to and participate in and get something of value out of this new kind of environment for them.

The Recurse Center has continued to grow since its first batch of participants in 2011, and you moved into a bigger space last fall. It definitely seems like it’s often a successful experience for everyone involved. What do participants say about their time there?

Looking back now, what do you appreciate most about growing up unschooling?

Things mentioned in the show

Check out the Recurse Center in NYC

Episode Transcript

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