by Jim Rietmulder | May 3, 2025 | Daily life, Ideas, Public policy
Left and right don’t agree on much, but on narcissism it’s unanimous: bad for kids, schools, and politics. Commentators of all stripes say society is more self-obsessed and entitled than ever. People care too much about status and getting attention. Social media makes...
by Jim Rietmulder | Mar 21, 2025 | Daily life, Ideas, Parenting
or Ten Things That Matter More Than Grades Grades get way too much credit. Sure, they might tell you how well you memorized for a test, but they don’t measure your ability to manage your life, work with people, or find happiness. So, what actually matters? For...
by Jim Rietmulder | Feb 19, 2025 | Ideas, Public policy
DeepSeek, a Chinese company, released its R1 artificial intelligence model last month, causing American tech stocks to crash. Why? Because R1 represents a better way to develop intelligence—by applying an essential Circle School method! R1 caused panic in the American...
by Jim Rietmulder | Jan 26, 2025 | Ideas, Public policy
In the week since Donald Trump’s inauguration, I’ve been musing about democracy, kids, and our roller-coaster world—the ups and downs and twists and turns. I’m comparing America with The Circle School. At two very different scales, both are democratic entities that...
by Jim Rietmulder | Oct 15, 2023 | Daily life, Ideas, Pictures
Drag-alongs, tag-alongs, stumble-ons, and happenings The Circle School describes itself as “self-directed” education, but that term can be misleading. Talking about student freedom, initiative, and self-direction sometimes creates the impression that each student is...
