What if you could demonstrate your skills and learning through projects you're passionate about instead of classes?

Learnlife was born from a deep desire to free learning from the constrains of the standard classroom. Devin and his co-founders visited and researched 100 different schools across the globe and picked out what works and why to turn it into the first Learnlife hub in Barcelona.

Now with multiple hubs and training delivered to teachers across the globe, Learnlife wants to spread the word that the future of education will not be taught - the future will guide, facilitate and help learners follow their own passions.

In this episode, we are privileged to get to meet and talk with Devin and three of the learners at the hub, Sol, Lorenzo and Pep. We hear all about how the hub runs day-to-day, what the learners are working on and why it is such a different experience to a standard curriculum-based school.

• Check out Devin's new book, The Future Will Not Be Taught.

Get inspired!

I'd love to hear from you, get in touch :)

X (Twitter): @alexoneill

The music in this episode is Indestructible by Noah Smith

Are we looking at behaviour management the wrong way?

Behaviour management is a topic all to itself when it comes to teaching, but what if we're looking at it the wrong way? Managing behaviour in a classroom often centres around rewards and punishments, from sticker charts and rainclouds for young children, to exclusion rooms and detentions for seniors, all of which can be short-lived and hard to implement.

Joel Shaljean is a therapeutic trainer in Essex and worked as a deputy head in a special school for a number of years. In this episode, he shares his knowledge about seeing behaviour as a result of underlying thoughts, feelings and experiences and instilling pro-social skills in young people. Behaviour management policies in schools can have unintended negative consequences and Joel shows us an alternative way to consider how we can look after our young people in the school environment (and at home).

If you'd like to get in touch with Joel find him on LinkedIn.

Enjoy today's episode!

I'd love to hear from you, get in touch :)

X (Twitter): @alexoneill

The music in this episode is Indestructible by Noah Smith

Education in the UK is "a system that is deeply unhealthy in many ways"

Dr. James Mannion started his career as a teacher to change the way education was embodied in schools. However, he realised that the system was so outdated and broken that the teaching workload made it extremely hard to enact any real widespread change.

So he launched Rethinking Education, an organisation that supports schools through change initiatives, challenges the status quo on a podcast, and brings education reformers together through online forums and real-life conferences.

In this episode, we cover why the way the school system is set up currently just doesn't work to create healthy, lifelong learners, why fear is a problem, and we dive into "Implementation Science" which looks at how schools (and other organisations) can create change that lasts.

• Rethinking Education website

Get inspired and enjoy!

I'd love to hear from you, get in touch :)

X (Twitter): @alexoneill

The music in this episode is Indestructible by Noah Smith

When your child tells you they would rather be dead than be in school, it would make any parent take action.

Peter Hartkamp and his wife did just that - by taking their daughter out of mainstream education and setting up their own school in The Netherlands. After some failed attempts at circumventing the education system there, they now run the successful Sudbury School in Amersfoort and this interview is all about the school and why Peter kept pushing the government in The Netherlands to allow him to create this change for his daughter and the many other children who now attend the school.

For more info on the school, check out their website:

Sudbury School Amersfoort

Peter's book "Beyond Coercive Education" is available in various places - check it out if you would like to hear more about his thoughts on children's rights.

Enjoy!

I'd love to hear from you, get in touch with me :)

Twitter: @alexoneill

The music in this episode is Indestructible by Noah Smith

There's a different way to educate our young people, and Dr Ian Cunningham shows us what that is.

Ian is a professor, author, and educator who founded the Self Managed Learning College in Brighton. His work spans many years and the College is a demonstration of how children can find their own path in their learning without the pressure of standardised tests or a set curriculum to motivate them.

In this interview, Ian goes into detail about how the College came to be, how it runs each day, and his view of a beautiful educational future.

• Check out the Self Managed Learning College

It sounds like such a cool place to learn!

-----------------------------

How to set up a learning community

If you think you'd be up for setting up something like the Self Managed Learning College in your local area, come and get some expert advice on Tuesday 4th July from Sophie Christophy, co-founder of the consent-based, self-directed learning communities the Cabin and the Lodge. You will have plenty of chances to ask questions and hear about her real lived experience of creating a free learning space.

Book now!

I'd love to hear from you, get in touch with me :)

Twitter: @alexoneill

The music in this episode is Indestructible by Noah Smith

If you've ever thought there was something about school that just didn't sit right with you, Dr. Naomi Fisher will probably be able to articulate why that is.

She is a clinical psychologist and author and has worked with children and adults who have struggled with or fallen out of the education system for many years. She has seen the challenges young people struggle with at school and advocates for society to look at whether it might be the system itself that needs to change instead of the individuals within it.

Naomi has written two books: Changing Our Minds I have read and would HIGHLY recommend and is on Kindle for 99p throughout June, and her new book, A Different Way to Learn, is just about to be released on the 21st of June. As a listener of the Limitless podcast, you can grab a copy of it from the Jessica Kingsley website for 20% off using the code NFISHER20.

Get Changing Our Minds from Kindle

Get A Different Way to Learn from Jessica Kingsley

If you want to hear more from Naomi you can find her in the following places:

• Substack blog

Enjoy the episode and get inspired!

I'd love to hear from you, get in touch with me :)

Twitter: @alexoneill

The music in this episode is Indestructible by Noah Smith

When was the last time you felt truly capable of changing the world?

Series 4 of the Limitless podcast brings you inspiration on how to start a revolution in education.

Maybe you're a parent, a teacher, a student, or a passionate advocate of bringing about change to the way we deliver education in this country. Maybe you feel stuck and frustrated at the way of things and want ideas on how you can make a difference. Maybe you feel alone in your ideas and want to hear what other people have to say.

Join us for a delve into the world of education - and let's start a revolution, together!

Get in touch

Twitter: @alexoneill

The music in this episode is In A World by Tiger Gang

We've reached the very last episode of series 3 and today I tell you about my purpose, why I keep going, and what drives me to create the podcast each week.

I'll be taking a break over the summer so it's a farewell from the podcast for now, but I'd love to meet all of you so come on over to my social channels to say hi, or join my Patreon community to be the first to hear about new things that are happening.

What a fab series it has been. Thank you to everyone who listens. Share and review if you want to spread the love, and I'll speak to you all in the Autumn!

Get in touch

Twitter: @alexoneill

Support the podcast

www.patreon.com/limitlesscommunity

The great selection of music in this episode is the following, in order of appearance:

Step Up by Avocado Junkie

Who is best to deliver training to educators about neurodiversity?  Neurodivergent people of course!

Catrina Lowri founded her organisation, Neuroteachers, to improve the lives of children who struggle with school attendance due to autism, ADHD, and many other neurodiversities. She herself has dyslexia and bipolar, both of which have created challenges for her throughout her life, but have inspired her work to bring autistic people into her organisation to deliver autism training to educators in the UK.

Check out how Catrina is championing neurodiversity in today's episode!

Find out more about Catrina and Neuroteachers here:

Neuroteachers website

Support the podcast: www.patreon.com/limitlesscommunity

Music is Step Up, courtesy of Avocado Junkie

You may have noticed there was a break of a few weeks during this series... a necessary one for me, as I became extremely overwhelmed with life and recognised I needed to put the brakes on a few things. In this episode, I talk about spotting overwhelm and burnout, and learning how to take a break when you need one (top tip: if you feel like you've got way too much on and are feeling stressed about it, you need a break!)

Time to chill out peeps!

Support the podcast: www.patreon.com/limitlesscommunity

Music is Step Up, courtesy of Avocado Junkie