Off-Trail Learning

What’s the sense and science behind giving kids more control over their lives? Why do they deserve autonomy? Ned Johnson answers these questions in his wonderful 2018 book, The Self-Driven Child (coauthored with Bill Stixrud). In the interview Ned discusses his life as a Washington D.C. test prep tutor, the deleterious effects of stress, why kids need a sense of control in their lives, shifting from “boss” to “consultant” as a parent, the science of self-motivation, and — crucially — the role that school plays in all this. In my opinion, Ned presents a powerful case for unschooling and self-directed learning. Don’t miss his final, touching story about supporting his own daughter’s break from school. Learn more about book and its authors at theselfdrivenchild.com, and read Blake’s summary and critique of the book at https://self-directed.org/tp/give-kids-control/

If you’re in love with the principles of self-directed learning but don’t want to abandon the public school system, how can you still make an impact? Kate Friedman (katefriedman.co) has figured out one way to do this. A former kindergarten special ed teacher who has also worked at the Brooklyn Free School, Kate now nudges classroom teachers in the direction of self-directed learning with the hopes of gradually shifting the New York City public school system toward more choice and inclusion of different ways of learning. We discuss good structure versus bad structure, the orthodoxy of self-direction education (that sometimes leads to kids who can’t read or write), and what inspires her to continue working in the public system despite its flaws.

North Star (northstarteens.org) is an alternative to middle school and high school in Western Massachusetts, and it's a highly inspiring model of supporting self-directed learning at the teenage level. In Fall 2018, I took a break from my speaking tour to spend 9 days at North Star and immerse myself in the model and its community. In this special episode, you'll get a brief introduction to North Star through the voices of a dozen of its teen members.

To find centers similar to North Star — or if you'd like to start your own such center — visit the Liberated Learners network @ liberatedlearners.net.

What are the best and worst arguments for going to 4-year college today? On today’s episode I debate this question with T.K. Coleman, the Education Director of an alternative-to-college program, Praxis (discoverpraxis.com). What’s the value of a stimulating academic environment? Access to social life? Developing a “life of the mind?” Signaling your value in the marketplace? If you have a young person in your life who’s wrestling with the college decision, this is a great episode to share with them.

If you’re a teenager who (1) doesn’t go to conventional school and (2) wants to make new, open-minded friends — then get yourself to Not Back to School Camp, the preeminent gathering place for teenage unschoolers and self-directed learners. In this episode I interview Matt Sanderson, who recently finished directing two sessions of camp. Some of the questions we address include: What is day-to-day life like at Not Back to School Camp? What’s the best part and worst part about being director? And what *really* happens at this magical and mysterious place? If you have a teen who’s considering camp, this is a great episode to listen to together. Visit nbtsc.org for more details, and remember that registration opens in February!

If you want to get involved in alternative education in your twenties, what steps can you take to make it possible? Cassidy Younghans, age 27, is currently in the middle of answering this question. After teaching in Texas public schools for 5 years, Cassidy jumped ship and is now interning at the Houston Sudbury School. She dreams of starting her own school or center some day , but she’s not quite sure how — so for now she’s focusing on organizing meet-up groups, co-hosting a small annual conference, and exploring further internship possibilities. We discuss Cassidy’s background, motivations, inspirations, and challenges as she makes her way through new and uncharted territory.

Self-Directed Path (self-directedpath.org)is the conference that Cassidy co-organizes in Texas in April.

What was it like to start an alternative school—especially one that supports “homeschoolers”, a hitherto unknown term—back in the sixties and seventies? Pat Montgomery did just that. She fought the hard fights, secured protections for home educators and self-directed learners, and even sued the Michigan State Board of Education. The school she founded, Clonlara (clonlara.org), now supports families across the United States and in 50 other countries, as well as on their physical K-12 campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I speak with Pat and her daughter, Chandra Montgomery Nicol (Clonlara’s executive director), about the past, present, and future of Clonlara, especially as they expand into countries where homeschooling is illegal, such as Germany.

For the full story of Clonlara's founding, don't miss Pat’s 2017 memoir, The School That’s Inside You.

In this special episode, Zen Zenith interviews Blake Boles about the past, present, and future of Unschool Adventures (unschooladventures.com), including a sneak preview of Blake’s big new program for 17- to 20-year-olds that’s launching in 2019: Independent Adventures. They also discuss Blake’s videos, articles, speaking tour, podcast, and future projects. Visit blakeboles.com to find the blog post that accompanies this episode (“Looking Back / Looking Forward”), and don’t miss Zen’s own podcast, The House Show Show (thehouseshowshow.com).

After a decade of teaching at public and private schools, Joel Hammon quit. Despite being on track to earning a six-figure salary with full benefits, he couldn’t take it anymore. But he still wanted to work with young people, so he co-founded Princeton Learning Cooperative (princetonlearningcooperative.org): a center based on the North Star model. In this episode we talk about how Joel struggled with teaching, what he loved about it, what led him to quit, how he (and others like him) maintain financial security, and how he continues contributing to social change outside of public education. We also discuss the Liberated Learners network (liberatedlearners.net) and Joel’s 2016 book, The Teacher Liberation Handbook.

Learn more about Joel at joelhammon.com, and don’t miss his wonderful TEDx talk.

Does self-directed education really “work,” and how can we prove it? In this episode I speak with Peter Gray, Ph.D., about the evidence (and lack thereof) for the effectiveness of unschooling and democratic free schools. Topics include: How does one measure the "effectiveness" of education in the first place? What does Peter's research say? How might a skeptical parent critique it? Why is it hard to get this research published? If Peter could design a perfect experiment to show that it self-directed education works, what would it look like? And how might a Master’s or Ph.D. student contribute to this field?

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Peter's blog: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn

Peter's book: http://www.freetolearnbook.com

Show your love for the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/blakeboles