School

I’m thinking about starting a school for my son and his friends. Early stages. This is a place to gather notes and ideas.

Things to figure out:

Model

Financials – Can I quit my job to do this?

Legal nonsense

Guiding ideas

More freedom, fewer restrictions.

Some structure, not completely unschool.

Grades don’t matter. Optimize for learning and curiosity.

Introduce core concepts, dive deeper if students are interested.

Spend lots of time outside.

Socratic discussion.

Models

Models to check out:

Forest School, https://www.forestschools.com/

Acton Academy

Synthesis

The Socratic Experience

Things to read:

Ana Fabrega’s newsletter

Michael Strong’s The Habit of Thought

The One World Schoolhouse by Sal Khan

Forest School book in Charlie’s room

John Taylor Gatto

Julie Bogart’s Raising Critical Thinkers

The Sense of Wonder, Rachel Carson

“The most damaging thing you learned in school wasn’t something you learned in any specific class. It was learning to get good grades.”
Paul Graham