Over Exposure
It’s one of the most frequent of frequently asked questions: I lost track long ago of how many times we’ve fielded concerns about exposure over the years. In general, there are two different types of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Repost: Stop Trying to Make Everything Educational
We don’t often repost from external blogs, but this recent entry from Happiness is Here is exceptionally straightforward and insightful. An Australian homeschooler, Sara’s post speaks directly to what...
View ArticleThe Cure for the Summertime Blues
We’re through our first month of summer, and already students are asking when the new school year is going to start. One AVS student recently complained to me, “Summertime is boring. There’s nothing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Successful Struggles
In a striking passage near the end of Daring Greatly, Brené Brown addresses the topic of helicopter parenting, emphasizing both the difficulty and the necessity of letting kids struggle: There seems to...
View ArticleThe Power of Being Seen
When I enrolled as a student in Alpine Valley School I was fourteen years old and was convinced that I was a friend-repellent. Hard as I had tried to make close friends during my years in traditional...
View ArticleResponsible For Their Lives
One of my favorite authors and someone whose work has beneficially impacted my life is Brene Brown, a research professor and social scientist. She writes, lectures and gives workshops about what she...
View ArticleLittle Scratches
In a talk on education, one of my heroines used the image of someone being “bled to death by a thousand small scratches.” This image sticks with me, because in 25 years of teaching I have seen...
View ArticleAnswers from an AVS Alum
A few days ago a Sudbury parent posed a question on a message board for families involved in alternative schooling. One of our own alumni, Jesse Alford, responded with the following insightful message....
View ArticleTrusting Our Children, Trusting Ourselves
My son is fifteen months old and he just now started to walk. Despite repeated assertions from trained professionals that he should be walking at eleven months old, or twelve months at the latest, he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Counter Culture
When I started as a student back in 1999 (I see you doing the math in your head – stop it!) one of the most intriguing aspects of Alpine Valley School was the notion that I could participate in the...
View Article