by Jim Rietmulder | Jun 2, 2013 | Play, Public policy
“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...
by Julia James | May 31, 2013 | Ideas, Public policy
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...
by Julia James | Apr 22, 2013 | Parenting, Stories
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...
by Jim Rietmulder | Mar 24, 2013 | Ideas, Public policy
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...
by Jim Rietmulder | Feb 20, 2013 | Daily life
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...
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by Jim Rietmulder | Jan 28, 2013 | Ideas
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...
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by Julia James | Jan 17, 2013 | Play, Public policy
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. 🙂...
by JD Stillwater | Dec 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
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?”...
by Jim Rietmulder | Dec 10, 2012 | Ideas
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...
by Jim Rietmulder | Nov 5, 2012 | Public policy
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....
