It seems a bit crazy that we should have to defend recess and play in schools. However, schools across the United States have been reducing or eliminating recess in favor of increased time spent on subjects covered in standardized testing. Unfortunately, this trend may actually do more harm than good. Exercise, free play and creative ... Read more
In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 TEDtalk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning — creating conditions where kids’ natural talents can flourish. Watch the full video below.
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. This talk and countless discussions related to this topic led one of the authors of this site to start homeschooling her children in 2009. Watch the full video below.
The Global Learning Crisis – And What to Do About It By 2030, half the world’s children will be out of school or failing to learn in school. The most important infrastructure we have is educated minds, says former Tunisian government minister Amel Karboul. Yet too often large investments go to more visible initiatives ... Read more
New to homeschooling? We can get through this together… With the new reality of sheltering-in-place, comes a new reality of needing to “school” our children. In many situations, schools have quickly migrated their curriculums online. Depending on the age of the child, however, and the school, the parent is left figuring out what to do ... Read more
In the mid 1800’s, Horace Mann captured the potential impact of education on society. We have yet to realize the potential he saw, and in fact, we are missing the mark by a wider and wider margin. We have created a “Toxic Culture of Education” in our country that is damaging students, impacting our economy, ... Read more
For several years, youth around the globe have been striking for immediate and effective action to the climate crisis. While many adults, world leaders, and educators have supported these efforts, there has also been no lack of criticism aimed at the students. Much of the criticism involves suggesting, or outright stating, that children should be ... Read more
Would you choose to build a house on top of an unfinished foundation? Of course not. Why, then, do we rush students through education when they haven’t always grasped the basics? Yes, it’s complicated, but educator Sal Khan (founder of Khan Academy) shares his plan to turn struggling students into scholars by helping them master ... Read more
Mindfulness allows us to see our thoughts and feelings as they really are, freeing us from old ways of thinking. Want to give it a try? Check out this animation narrated by Sharon Salzberg.
In this engaging talk, Callie shares with the TEDxCambridgeUniversity audience her experience of ‘unschooling’. Different to ‘home-schooling’, Callie reflects upon how this new educational method and philosophy impacted her development. She argues that children need to be put back at the center of their education. ‘Unschooled’ until age 16 when she started high school in ... Read more