The Luminous Mind Podcast | A show about you becoming your best self through unconventional thinking

In this episode with Carlo Ricci, we get an overview of a number of books he has written, edited and/or been a contributor. Carlo's research interests include Unschooling; Homeschooling; Holistic Education; Self-determined Learning; Free Schools; Democratic Schools; Online Learning; Technology and Learning; Play; Natural Learning; Curiosity; Willed Learning; the Willed Curriculum; Critical Pedagogy; and Healthy Living. We also discuss the definition of many of these learning modalities during our conversation.

Show Notes for Episode 187

We give a shout out to listener Lauri Muse for this guest suggestion...THANKS SO MUCH!

Quote:  "I call (this style of learning) willed-learning or willed-curriculum as well. From that, I'm interested in the unschooled perspective about freedom, responsibility, and genuine authentic learning. Where the learner actually gets to choose what to learn, where to learn, for how long to learn, whether to opt in or out, and it's really comes back to allowing people to unfold and to grow in very genuine, open, authentic ways."

"And the hope is that each and everyone of us can make a difference. All we have to do is not worry about other people but worry about ourselves and worry about how we interact with (others). If you're a teacher, a student or young person but if you're not in the teaching field, just (how we interact with) other people in the world."   This podcast is sponsored by Praxis, to get exclusive information for The Luminous Mind listeners, go to discoverpraxis.com/mind

In this episode, former public educator, Thomas Bogle, talks about how he is helping teachers to continue to maintain professional relevance while their market flees the traditional educational systems. 

​Thomas Bogle is an independent educator teaching courses in economics, entrepreneurship, and political philosophy. He and his wife are both former certified public school teachers who choose to homeschool their seven children. After seven years teaching  in the public school system, Thomas left  public education to develop the Free Market Educators Association, a professional development organization for freelance educators working outside traditional learning institutions

Show Notes for Episode 186

Quotes:  "The only difference here (with Free Market Education) is that now you have to actually convince kids not just that the class is going to be fun but it is going to be valuable for them, because you're asking them to put money on the line. You're asking them to actually buy into your class. So the first thing is just to convince educators that they're already doing this, they just don't realize that they're doing it because they don't see the money changing hands. The money is already changing hands they just don't see it. The second thing is yet getting them to think with that mindset. This is really one that changes educational philosophies a lot, is when you have to try to treat your students as customers. 

"I had a piece at a Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) published on if students aren't the customers, then they are essentially the product being sold. Like "Facebook users," "Twitter users" I'm sorry but if you're a "user" of a free service you are the product that's being sold, it's advertising dollars." In the public school system students are that the products of the public school system, they're the product that we're selling, and we're selling them for for political profit."

"It (disdain for free market education) really is engrained in an our teacher training colleges. So I'm trying to at least offer some services to counter that. To show that teachers, "yeah, you really need to set up a personal website." Not just one where you show your homework assignment for tonight. [The website] is a place for you to showcase who you are as a person, what you contribute to the field professionally, personally, give the student and parent testimonials. This is your website as a marketing tool. A lot of teachers don't think of it that way, your social media presence. Teachers must have a social media presence."

"Motivation has a huge impact on learning and on how willing they are to do the different activities or to dive themselves into some of the learning activities that we would do. Whereas the students in these homeschool co-ops, I won't say all of them really wanted to be there. There were some students where the parents signed them up. But usually in a situation like that, I would simply reach out to the parents and say, "if they really don't want to be there, it's kind of detrimental to their learning" and the parents would understand pulling out of the course. So the vast majority of students actually wanted to be there, they wanted to learn, they wanted to be engaged in the activities that we were doing."

"The changing the mentality of, instead of thinking of students as, "Hey you're  here, I'm in charge, I'm gonna tell you what to do." Thinking of myself as a producer of educational services. Thinking of my students and their parents as my customers, where I have to deliver value. Not some future, hidden, "someday you're gonna need to know this." I have to deliver value to them now, I have to explain to you, right now, why you need to know the Pythagorean theorem today."   "What I'm trying to do is...take the teachers and say, "teachers this institution is failing you and your market is leaving, if you want to continue having an impact on these kids' lives, you need to get yourself out of these institutions."  Stop supplying this public service, because it's not a service. In so doing it and actually trying to convince teachers that it's not very beneficial for them to be in the public school system, it will actually make it easier for them to make a living working outside of it."

"I have long been a believer in the phrase, "criticize by creating"  where if I'm going to spend my time to sit and look at a problem that exist and then just complain about it, that's pointless, it's a waste of time, and it just drags everyone down, myself included. If I see a problem I ought to start building a solution to that problem. So for me, sitting back looking at public education mired in its own political problems, my long-term objectives are to build the institutions and the networks and the frameworks they will eventually completely replace the education model that we've adopted not just in this country but in most of the world."   This podcast is sponsored by Praxis, to get exclusive information for The Luminous Mind listeners, go to discoverpraxis.com/mind

In this episode, we talk with Zakkiyya Chase, who is an author, mother, and homeschool consultant. She is also the CEO of Empowered Home Educators which is a resource for families of color who are new to homeschooling. We learn about her own educational journey as well as the inspiration behind her book: "No Dream Deferred: Why Black and Latino Families Are Choosing to Homeschool" and why this style of education is so critical for families of color.

Show Notes for Episode 185:

This podcast is sponsored by Praxis, to get exclusive information for The Luminous Mind listeners, go to http://discoverpraxis.com/mind/

This conversation with experienced journalist, editor, and retired homeschooler, Traci Matt, is centered around her first book, "Don't Waste Your Time Homeschooling: 72 Things I Wish I'd Known" as we have a candid discussion on her homeschooling dos and don'ts during her personal journey through family learning and life.

Traci has written on a variety of topics ranging from education and ministry, to car repair and fabric wholesaling. Her first book, "Don't Waste Your Time Homeschooling: 72 Things I Wish I'd Known," has held the top spots in two Amazon categories since its publication in 2014, standing many weeks as a best-seller. Traci and her husband live in the Kansas City area in gleefully close proximity to their children and grandchildren.

Show Notes for Episode 184

Quotes:

"Once I made the decision, I was very prideful about it, like you know, I'm doing the best. I am doing the best thing and all the sacrifice is the best way to do things for everybody. Really I learned over the course in the next couple decades that, that was a really bad attitude to have."

"It's just still really rings true that the whole system is so artificial and you know has served its purpose."

"My parting advice for people that are considering a nontraditional schooling path for their kids is just don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, don't listen to the naysayers. Choose one or two people that you really trust to help keep you grounded, in case something goes wonky along the way. But just do what's best for your family and don't worry about the other peoples' opinions."

This podcast is sponsored by Praxis, to get exclusive information for The Luminous Mind listeners, go to discoverpraxis.com/mind

In this Episode, we welcome back former firestarter, Pat Keeney, to discuss exciting developments with k12 "Destination Schools." These schools implement the best in CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs. It is a great discussion on how k12 is working to build individualized, purpose-driven education for students.

Show Notes for Episode 183

Quotes: 

"What is outstanding CTE education look like? How can we implement that in all of our schools? Thereby really disrupt the thinking in education that this isn't something that's an extra add-on, it's not something that you do at the Vo-Tech (which is kind of dirty word from the last decade really) but it's something that is part of everybody's education. It helps make everybody feel relevant, they love it, they practice with things, they work with things, etc."

"For jobs that were talking about that are "middle jobs" and how they caught up to wages and in some cases surpassed wages, to jobs that have a four year college degree. The second part of that is more insidious and that is, that (collectively) students are carrying over $1 billion in debt after graduating college, but there the challenges is that many of the students aren't finding jobs or they're not finding jobs that are in high-paying fields."

"Our commitment [k12] is to high-quality CTE programs. We are not interested, for instance, in building CTE programs that are just some courses strung together in a course catalog, where we might get state funding. That is no different for the student then just taking other electives and so certainly that hands-on component is an important important part of it."

"I couldn't be more thankful to be involved in education with where it's at right now. Education is not easy and certainly it's controversial, it involves all of our students. I think we're at the beginning of several decades of improvements that technology will help to make possible but also that really good dedicated teachers, administrators, and thought leaders in this area will make possible. I think career education is just the first area where we're going to make huge strides and enormous improvements in the quality of the educational experience for students. Think about some of things that we talked about: individualized education, so students not feeling like a number; students finding relevance in what they're doing; students even being excited (about education). Then when they walk across the stage to get their diploma, they walk across the stage with so much more, and that is the opportunity to have earned credentials, to have earned college credits, etc."

"I think there is a lot of negativity in the national conversation about education. There certainly are problems that need to be solved, but I think the last hour we've been able to talk about something that's happening in this country that is positive. It's not smoking mirrors, it's if you provide students with something that they're interested in and purposeful, they're gonna eat it up. I think we just have to get better at that."

183-Music by: http://www.bensound.com http://www.freesfx.co.uk2013 cdk Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Verify at http://ccmixter.org/files/cdk/43797

This is an enlighten conversation with Michelle Loucas with Philly Free School which is a diverse population democratic free school. Michelle gives us an inside look at how children learn exclusively through play, interaction with others, and through creating their own unique learning path. To learn more about Michelle, go to the show notes page.

Show notes for Episode 182 

Quotes:

"This model of education really allows individuals to be individual in a way that no institutional system of schooling can really do."

"If that's not one of the biggest symbols of how unnatural our current mainstream education system is, that kids literally don't even light of day outside of the walls of their school unless it's like a twice a year field trip or something."

There are families who would never consider sending their kids to our school because those families are so committed to the public schools. They feel somehow they could be turning their backs on the public school by sending their kids to our school. I think that's misguided because I think when they're using the words 'public-school' what they mean by that is the equal rights issue that you're describing. They're talking about giving everybody an opportunity to be well educated that's what they don't want to abandon. I, of course, fully support that, but I don't believe that our current public schools are doing that. I think our public schools are part of the problem and it's unfortunate. I'm not blaming any individuals that are there. I think that it's a structural problem. I don't think that our public schools are providing a quality education for everyone."


"They (the students) are within a structure which they have been part of creating, that just respects each other as individuals to find their own paths and to understand that their individual freedom stops right where the next person's freedom begins. That is a little messy, it's not totally obvious, it's certainly not a utopia but that they are all invited to be part of the conversation about working that out on a case-by-case basis each day."

"If you're thinking about making a leap out of a conventional educational setting and into another, start by sitting down and trying to forget everything that you associate with school and just ask yourself, "what outcomes do I really want for my kid? What do I really want my kid to be able to do or know? How do I want my kid to be in the world as result of their education?"

In this podcast we revisit a past firestarter, Heidi Totten, to find out about her volunteerism with 100 humanitarians. She tell us how her work in Kenya has changed her life for the better. 

Heidi Totten is a wife, mother of two children, runs a consulting business and a humanitarian organization that focuses on projects in Kenya, Africa...and sometimes she sleeps. She is a best-selling author, speaker, coach, trainer, and loves helping people discover the mentoring, tools and resources they need to achieve their dreams. She was featured on episode 21

Show notes for 181

Quotes: "I really believe, honestly, that everybody has their passion. We don't have to change the world, we can actually just follow our passion, gather the other people that want to do it as well, and then help to implement and create change in that society."   "I don't want to be known as an organization that donates stuff, I want to be known as an organization that donates mentoring, time, and training."   "Humanitarian work is to see the humanity in these people that don't have what we have, and say I see that humanity in you and I honor it. Let me just help you learn some tools and have access to some resources so that you can make your life better."   "If I wouldn't do it here, then I'm not gonna do it there. I know that there are articles on people going over and painting orphanages 12 times because the humanitarian group wanted something to do. For me, it's not about wanting something to do, it's about connecting with people. That's the hard part for a lot of people but it's about connecting with people and seeing the humanity in them because that is what creates change. I can send over 40 bucks and say, 'hey go paint this orphanage.' because Kenyans know how to paint."   "We always have this saying, 'find your passion' but honestly if you're living your life in alignment and you're following your intuition, saying yes to the things that interest you, your passion will find you, knock you over, and suddenly you're going to Kenya several times a year."

In this episode, Kenneth Danford joins us to talk about his experiences working with teens at North Star. We discuss freedom in education, of helping teens create there own educational path with free-will vs. compulsion. We get his perspective as an educator how it has worked and the results as well as how he has helped other educators create this unique work environment for themselves.

Kenneth Danford is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens.  North Star, now located in Sunderland, Massachusetts near Amherst and Northampton, is in its 21st year of supporting teens to leave school and pursue self-directed learning.  There is now a network of centers modeled after North Star, called Liberated Learners.  Kenneth has directly supported more than 600 teens to pursue this approach.

Show Notes for Episode 180

Quotes: "What I talked about with Joshua right away was, well how could we help all the kids that we're tormenting and use this approach, how do we help school kids become like these kids?"   "Homeschooling and unschooling at this age isn't about learning at home from a parent who is teaching you. Homeschooling as a teenager is about identifying your interests, taking risks, getting out of the house and doing cool things, including jobs and college and internships, being out and about, taking yourself seriously."   "What is important to me is this fundamental respect of treating young people the way that we would treat anybody. Talking to young people the way I would talk to an adult or to my siblings or to a friend. They're still young people, but they're not needing me to boss them around and get them to do the right thing. So the fundamental part of the approach is giving kids options, considering their interests, and taking no for an answer."   "I'm happy to get up every morning and go to Northstar. I'm interested to see if the phone is going to ring and who's walking in the door. There's nobody who comes to talk to me who isn't choosing to do that. No one comes to my class, no one comes for one-on-one tutorial, no one comes for advisory, no one comes to interacting with me who isn't seeking me out."   "Most places in the world, people don't go by compulsion, for the most part. It's quite normal and simple, the trick is trusting it. We don't trust, as a culture, teenagers. We don't trust they're gonna turn out okay, unless we make them do things, and we think we have to make them do a bunch of things. We don't even make them do it, we just give them bad grades when they choose not to. In North Star, my interactions with teens are more normalized then schools are or the way I was able to interact with kids in school, which was forced, stilted, and constrained."   "What I think is the profound conclusion is that, for coaching 600 kids to stop going to school, I've harmed no one. We are not making kids' lives worse, and that's pretty important to me. I didn't feel that way when I was teaching in school, I thought I was making kids lives worse a lot of the time."   "I would like to see schools adopt some of what we are saying...I would like to see schools not be compulsory or at the very least, permit kids to come to the parts of school they want and then say no thank you to the parts they don't want. So that teens could just come and do Math, or orchestra, or just do gym for all I care. At the end of their time they just get a transcript of what they did and if their transcript adds up to distribution requirements, they can have a diploma too, and if not they're encouraged to walk on down the hall and sign up for the GED and then use that diploma instead, which by the way is a hundred percent useful and satisfactory for things. I don't want to see kids trapped in school, where they don't want to be. I think the easiest solution to the whole thing, would be to take a school that already exist with all the resources (chemistry labs, gymnasiums and good people teaching) that these facilities already have but allow people to make choices within there to do the parts they wanted, and say no thank you to the parts they don't want."

 

This podcast is reconnecting with our favorite maverick, seasoned teacher, Jim Baker, to find out what is new with him. He tells us new methods he is using to educate students and mentor other teaching entertainers.

Jim Baker is a 46-year, seasoned "Maverick" in the UK teaching industry. Jim is highly-awarded for his excellence in teach approach and the use of technology implementation. He has an Online Learning Site, with useful links to science, other subjects, mind mapping, teacher training, EAL (English as an additional language) and general topics.  He specializes in providing resources for teachers and students, maximizing students’ learning, and advising fellow teachers on 'what really works’. He believes that learning will be your most valuable experience in life.  Make the most of it. Jim has also been a past contributor with a 2 part podcast of Episodes 58 and Episode 79

Show Notes for Episode 179

 Quotes:  "I tell my students they should not be doing anything in class that they can do outside of class, and also I should be doing anything with them in class that an unknown specialist could do, or they could do on their own."   "In a conventional lesson it is the teachers asking the questions. They ask questions that they've previously researched the answers. But that's not how it should be, it is the students that are learning so they should be asking the questions."   "I've got a passion for repairing the nonsense that many call education."

In this episode, Tomis Parker, facilitator of self-directed learning centers gives us insight into how trusting children can result in changing the future. He gives us ideas how as parents, we can deschool our own thinking to allow our children to create their own unique education. We also discussed the pillars of the Agile Learning Center and the principles that guide their development.

Tomis have been facilitating in Self-Directed Education environments since 2009. He helped birth the first Agile Learning Center in NYC and served as the Director for three years. He now live in Charlotte, NC where he works and plays at ALC Mosaic. He wants to help organize a coherent movement for Self-Directed Education, because he believes trusting children is the most powerful catalyst for social change.

Show Notes for 178

 Quotes: "All the things it just seems like adults knew were madness and it didn't make sense and were crazy or were illogical things to be doing are just part of the way it works. You're just suppose to accept it and do that and fit into the world. For me the lightbulb was like, 'what does education look like, what does life look like, if we are telling ourselves and telling our kids that it's hasn't actually happened yet but that we are creating it moment by moment and that we're responsible for a reality for what's going on?' The goal isn't to become complicit with it {schooling} but to be an active creator of it {education}."   "I initially thought, this concept of 'trusting kids' essentially can work for everyone. And I think that it can work for everyone, once "everyone" is actually ready and interested in trusting kids but you can't just say, 'oh yeah, I want self-directed education for myself, for my kids, and my family,' without actually doing the work to orient yourself and your paradigm to that [self-directed education]."

"Something we write about a good bit is the importance of 'relationships' in this work and viewing conflict as opportunities rather than problems and that friction becomes the teacher." 

"Life is play and the idea isn't to win it but to keep the game going. It's kind of inspired by the book, "Finite and Infinite Games" by James Carse

"In terms of the overall arc of trusting kids and seeing conflict as an opportunity, seeing "bad choices" as an opportunity...this is kind of fundamental to this new ideas... we are all going to make mistakes in life forever, that's actually how you grow, that this a catalyst for growth. How do we approach that [correcting mistakes]? What tools and practices do you want to have in our lives to make sure we're seeing that is growth? How do we approach that as parents and facilitators in the spaces as well, so that it's not about making sure everyone's doing awesome all the time or feeling great all the time...but how do you support people if they are going through [difficult] things."

"Being humble as an individual yourself can help you see your kids in a way that you're not trying to get them to be all the things that you're not able to be."