More to Explore
Social Media
Slideshows
Selected Blog Posts
Wedding democracy
I don't know whether to call it democratic, or maybe crowd-sourced. Either way, I have never experienced a wedding as I did on Saturday. Well, yes, I was the father of the bride, and so, no, I don't see it through clear eyes, what with love and tears and all. But,...
The Year in Pictures
The 2012-13 "Year in Pictures" slideshow, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7MoT0it43g&rel=0
Seven sins of forced education
"Children are biologically predisposed to take charge of their own education." So says psychologist Peter Gray in his recent new book, Free To Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for...
Another note about test scores
Peter Gray's latest post over at Psychology Today, Be Glad for Our Failure to Catch Up with China in Education, reminds me of this post Jim wrote here back in October. Both make the pretty commonsense point that standardized test scores are probably not a great...
A view from a new family
A new-to-The-Circle-School mom wrote a post on her blog about their journey from Kansas City to Harrisburg and The Circle School, and some of her observations and experiences of the school. I found it interesting, and even learned some things (did you know we have...
Agency and coercion in several kinds of schools, Part 1
As a teenager in the 1970s, I wanted to be a fifth-grade teacher—an impulse that remains today, perhaps because I still love and listen to my inner nine-year-old. I studied interesting schools back then (still do), and traveled to visit several while still in high...
Weaving justice
Last night our judicial team demonstrated for the school community how the wheels of justice go 'round at The Circle School. Simulating what we do every day, they investigated complaints of law-breaking—real cases from a few years ago, with names changed. The...
Agency, attention, mistakes, and school
Agency is the capacity to choose and act on your own behalf, and may be a hallmark of life. A rock just sits there, but living creatures can do things, can take actions. Even bacteria detect and move towards nutrients, making choices and taking action in a primitive...
The benefits of play
Play is a hot topic these days, and every article I read on the subject reinforces for me the "rightness" of the Circle School experience. Here's an article about the benefits of play, both social and "academic." Enjoy. 🙂 -Julia
Growing
The nice man is just trying to be friendly. “So you two girls go to The Circle School…What’s your favorite subject?” The young girls are a little nonplussed. “We only take classes if we want to.” “Oh. Well what do you do at school, if you’re not in classes?”...
Infinity and the backyard bell tower
Nature impels us to avoid death and seek infinity. Call the first a biological imperative and the second a spiritual imperative. The first is the survival instinct. Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests you must satisfy the first before you can do much about the...
Washington gridlock and democratic schools
Tomorrow we Americans elect a president. Two days ago we Circle Schoolers hosted a group of families and educators here, telling them about life in our democratic school. Now I'm thinking about the connection between Washington gridlock and American schools. About...
Other Writings
What Kind of School?
The Learning Edge
Focusing on the latter, The Learning Edge offers thoughts about how and why self–direction is important and effective in education, proposing a framework of ideas supporting the practice of self–directed schooling.
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Selected Newsletters
A Regular Person
A few days ago I experienced my 29th first-day-of-school at The Circle School, and I imagined what a child's first first day might be like... It's your first day at The Circle School and you are Alice down the rabbit hole. You are in a strange new world: fascinating,...
THE CI_CLE SCHOOL
There is something about the spray bottle -- and maybe the missing "r" -- that makes this feel iconic to me.
How Children Succeed
I heard most of this radio interview the other morning, with Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, and I was thinking of The Circle School the entire time. I wonder if Paul Tough has heard of what we do here; I...
A new blog, & a disclaimer
For years, I've wished The Circle School had a blog -- a place staff (and students!) could post articles they found interesting, thoughts about the school and education in general, and maybe even lovely pictures of life here. But...obstacles abound. A blog is a lot of...