And what role should schools play in undoing white supremacy? Abrome is off today, in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day began as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day, and in 1992 the city of Berkeley, California, was the first was…
read moreA heart shaped rock On Thursday I decided to leave Cuddle Buddies Ivan and Ingrid at Abrome because of the warm temperatures. As I arrived I checked in with Katie and we continued some the conversations we have been having during the…
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#Adolescents#Agile Learning Centers#Alternative Schools#Alternatives To School#AY20-21#Covid-safe#Democratic Schools#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#free play#Free Schools#Free to Learn#Free to Play#Freedom to learn#Liberation#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#Self-Directed Education#unschooling
Going outdoors for this year was an exciting prospect for the Abrome Facilitators, but some of the Learners were not entirely thrilled about it. My concern was that hot weather at the beginning of the year and then dropping temperatures and rain…
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#Adolescents#Agile Learning Centers#Alternative Schools#Alternatives To School#Covid-safe#Cuddle Buddies#Democratic Schools#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free Schools#Free to Learn#Free to Play#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#Self-Directed Education#unschooling
The first day of a cycle when Learners are meeting new Learners or Facilitators tends to be a bit anxiety producing for some. But the second day is usually much more relaxed as the Learners have had the chance to be around…
read moreYesterday, Monday, we started our second cycle of the year at Abrome. I was super excited for what was to come all morning, and showed up at the drop off location at 9:10 a.m. where I met Katie, the woman who is…
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#Abrome#Agile Learning Centers#Alternative Schools#Alternatives To School#Covid-19#Covid-safe#Democratic Schools#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free Schools#Free to Learn#Free to Play#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#Self-Directed Education#unschooling
I woke up at 4:40 a.m., excited to get this second cycle of our outdoor, pandemic year going. I slowly gathered myself and then headed out for a nice 2.3 mile run in the very pleasant, cool, October morning air. The moon…
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#Abrome#Agile Learning Centers#Alternative Schools#Alternatives To School#AY20-21#Covid-19#Covid-safe#Democratic Schools#Education Conversations#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free Schools#get outside and play#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#Self-Directed Education#unschooling
Before we reopened for the year we ran a poll to get a better understanding of each family’s approach to the pandemic and their exposure to it. We received responses from all 13 households (Learners and Facilitators) in our community and I…
read moreWhat in your schooling has prepared you for the uncertainty of 2020? Did learning how to solve for x or the memorizing the year of the Magna Carta prepare you to deal with pandemic, state violence, and economic turmoil? Did it help…
read moreRemember when protecters of the status quo kept shouting, “Education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century!”? Doesn’t 2020 just highlight how absurd that was? 1. We live in a society that is still disappearing Black and brown people. Sometimes…
read moreYesterday was day 16 and the last day of our first cycle of first pandemic year. I say first because it is unlikely that the pandemic will be over by next August. Well, the first pandemic year if you don’t include last…
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#abolish the police#Abrome#Agile Learning Centers#copwatching#Covid-safe#defund the police#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free to Learn#Free to Play#Heartwood ALC#homeschool pods#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#remote learning#Self-Directed Education#unschooling
Yesterday was the first of our two planned remote days for the cycle, and the first two of our 14 total planned remote days for the year. We have had, and will have unplanned remote days, as well. For example, we were forced…
read moreCentral to our vision of what makes Self-Directed Education work for young people (and one of the reasons conventional schooling does not) is age mixing. We do not segregate Learners by age, and can have Learners as young as four-years-old and as…
read moreThis year I’ve been trying to do certain things to take care of myself so that I can better take care of others within the community. One of them is sleeping at least eight hours a night, and going to bed by…
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#Abrome#Agile Learning Centers#Anti-Oppression#AY20-21#Breonna Taylor#Cactus cult#Cookout#Covid-safe#Culture#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free to Learn#Free to Play#get outside and play#homeschool pods#Injustice#leave the schoolhouse behind#Marshmallow cult#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#Self-Directed Education
Two of the younger Learners in our cell have been joined at the hip since we came back together on September 8th. But starting on Wednesday, one of them was scheduled to be out for the rest of the week. For the…
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#Abrome#Agile Learning Centers#AY20-21#Covid-safe#Culture#Culture Creation#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free to Learn#Free to Play#get outside and play#homeschool pods#leave the schoolhouse behind#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#Self-Directed Education
On Tuesday the weather looked to take a turn for the better, although it was still forecasted to rain through the morning. I anticipated more Learners showing up on day eleven than on day ten, but our numbers decreased. Two Learners chose…
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#Abrome#Agile Learning Centers#awarenesses#boundaries#Community awareness board#Covid-safe#Culture#Culture Creation#Emancipated Learning#Flying Squads#Free to Learn#Free to Play#get outside and play#homeschool pods#leave the schoolhouse behind#Nature School#Outdoor learning#Outdoor school#Pandemic pods#pandemic schooling#practices#Self-Directed Education