The Essential School Sucks, #24 of 50 Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated We move from self-directed learning to its outcome: critical thinking. Today I'll discuss one of the MOST IMPORTANT aspects of it: our persistent uncritical thoughts and feelings. (November, 2016) What is wrong with John Oliver? What's wrong with Donald Trump? What's wrong the anti-Trump anti-reality protestors? What was wrong with me the other day when I suddenly felt impelled to hatch a conspiracy theory about Trump's election being part of a "larger plan" with little evidence? What's wrong with an alarming numbe ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #22 of 50 Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated Kerry McDonald is a home-educating mother of four, who holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University, where she studied education administration, planning, and social policy. She is a writer for Natural Mother Magazine, the Foundation for Economic Education, Forbes, and Intellectual Takeout. She is a founding member of AlternativesToSchool.com, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education. Her blog podcast is LiberatED. She joins me today to discuss her professional/academic educatio ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #21 of 50 Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated Scott Hambrick returns for a discussion on "how people learn and how we help them do that," as he aspires to be a more effective home-educator, Starting Strength coach, and leader at Online Great Books. We begin our discussion with an exploration of the common learning theories practiced in public school and higher education, along with a cost/benefit analysis of each: behaviorism, cognitivism, and (social) constructivism. We also touch on connectivism and mindset theory. In future conversation(s) we'll cover addit ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #21 of 50 Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated Today's show is intended as a resource for listeners looking to share the ideas of alternative education and self directed learning with their friends and family, or with anyone wants to learn more about these subjects. Blake Boles builds exciting alternatives to traditional school for self-directed young people. He runs the company Unschool Adventures and is the author of The Art of Self-Directed Learning, Better Than College, and College Without High School. Blake and I discuss the path to more self directed lear ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #20 of 50 Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives In the previous episode you heard my first podcast with Zak from 2016. Today we'll fast-forward five years for updates on life and career advice in times of increasing uncertainty and instability. Favorite School Sucks neighbor Zak Slayback returns to offer some key 2021 updates to his past advice for young people at the beginning of their careers. Our previous conversation on this topic, called How High School Students Can Get Ahead In Their Careers [PODCAST #583], covered: W ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #19 of 50 Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives Zak Slayback is an entrepreneur who writes, speaks and takes action on issues of education, innovation, and philosophy. He is an Ivy League dropout and a founding team member of Praxis - an organization that creates apprenticeships for college-age people that lead directly to full-time jobs. Learn more about Zak at ZakSlayback.com. Discussion: the power and opportunity of apprenticeships What's the difference between school and education? career guidance (or lack thereof) in h ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #18 of 50 Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives Today, an Essential School Sucks compilation of two conversations with natural learning legends: Sandra Dodd and Pam Laricchia. PART ONE: Sandra Dodd is a world-renown unschooling and natural learning advocate, and the mother of three adult unschooled children. Her website SandraDodd.com is one of the most comprehensive unschooling resources on the internet. She joins me for a fast-paced but fairly comprehensive discussion on unschooling and choice and her unschooling experienc ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #17 of 50 Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives Pat Farenga is a leading unschooling advocate, and the father of three adult unschooled children. He worked closely with unschooling pioneer John Holt on the Growing Without Schooling Magazine, and in the mid-1980s he took over as publisher of GWS and the president of Holt Associates. Today Pat runs the website JohnHoltGWS.com, which archives all the issues of the magazine, plus a variety of unschooling books and resources. He joins me to discuss the history of unschooling (the ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #16 of 50 Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives From (#SchoolSucksAcrossAmerica - DAY SIX - OCT 20 - Harrisburg, PA) Tony Myers and I ask and answer questions with Circle School students and staff. From the The Circle School website: A pioneer in integral education, The Circle School’s program balances freedom and responsibility in a self-directed, democratic community. Students are free to choose their own activities, while sharing with staff responsibility for the day-to-day management of all aspects of the school. Several ..read more

The Essential School Sucks, #15 of 50 Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives Diane Murphy taught in public schools for 30 years before she retired early to build BigFish, an innovative self-directed learning community in Dover, NH. I had the pleasure of speaking with Diane at the FreeCoast Festival and of hearing her presentation on BigFish. We sat down to discuss her past experience, current efforts and passion for self-directed learning and integrating teens into the real world. Discussion: Diane's path out of public school properties of natural lear ..read more