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Episode #3: Choice in Education – Living and Learning in Community
Most families find their children are happier and healthier when the place they spend their days is a good fit for who they are. For some children, this might be a public school. However, for many others, it isn’t. What learning opportunities already exist in our communities? How can home educating parents and other interested people collaborate with community spaces to offer even more? Could society itself use some deschooling? How might this play out for different families and even people across the lifespan and socioeconomic range, to really tap into opportunities for living and learning for all? Join us as we explore some thoughts, at least scratching the surface, about the possibilities of education that happens beyond a building.
We discuss:
How libraries are wonderful places, often offering more than people realize
That community spaces (library, etc) can still be quite centered around the school schedule and the school year
The benefit of community spaces that include a few things such as a playground, sports area, library, maker space, cafe and others
The changing landscape of home education, from grass roots DIY homeschool groups and co-ops, to sometimes more of a ‘contracting out’ to lessons and programs that are being offered in the community and marketed to parents. The pros and cons …
The potential difficulty with social exclusivity in homeschooling when the pool of families is too small, so the bigger pool of people, the more interests and types of personalities that can be served
That sometimes there is some groundwork that needs to be done in homeschool connections to community spaces. There are benefits to the community doing the inviting, but also an importance to parents being involved and instrumental
The potential loss of some overlap between new and experienced homeschool parents as a result of the pandemic as far as guiding and organizing
The misunderstanding that developed about what home education actually is from so many children doing virtual school at home so suddenly
The gradual opening up of flexible learning, growth and change for all ages as a cultural norm
Supporting places such as sports and art classes and libraries to figure out what families are wanting and needing, helping them to “deschool” what they offer and collaborating with grace and patience on both sides
The way that societal expectations of standard paths and success don’t match what works for many people and what they are actually doing.
How the word “school” feels different, depending on the context and degree of choice. Eg, Forest school, courses for adults and more
The trust (or lack thereof) that people know what they want to do and that they can carry that out. How does that relate to different stages of adulthood? Seniors? Children?
When programs and places such as forest schools are open to hearing children’s ideas as well, great things can happen and the organizers learn oodles from the kids. The group members are then all learning from each other continuously
Choice as being key. Sometimes kids really want something very structured and traditional so it’s nice to have those available as well. They can have a completely different feel when they don’t feel locked into it
Lifespan views – looking at how we accept freedom at various life stages, particularly the senior years
Loosening our grip on how we see success on a whole lot of levels … would that change the way we think about earlier learning?
Democratic schools, self-directed learning centres and private schools and how they fit well for some families and not as well for others
The beauty of multi-age learning and interaction, and ways of making education spaces more family-informed
The paradoxical trends of society opening up to more homeschooling and flexible education options, but at the same time increasing standardization of learning, and extending school to more hours at younger ages
Flexi schooling – where it’s worked and where it hasn’t. Although options are sometimes available, because so few people seem to question the status quo, it can be hard to take advantage of
How sometimes it’s easier to support our child in joining an existing volunteer opportunity than to try to start a new initiative
How maybe we don’t need to be so heavy on curating and setting up opportunities if kids have access to meaningful, purposeful work opportunities
The possibility of extending more funding to community and family learning (controversial and complicated, we know)
So, yep .. a whole lot is in this conversation!
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Peter Gray – Libraries as Centres for Self-Directed Education