Day 94 of AY20-21: a planned remote day!

This week started out fabulously on Sunday as the weather broke 70 degrees. Some of Austin was still reeling from the deep freeze and subsequent black outs and burst pipes that came with it, but most of Austin soaked up the sun and moved on. Except for those who were seriously harmed by the cold or who suffered water damage, there was little to recover from as there would be if the disaster was caused by a tornado or flooding. Without visual evidence of the harm suffered all around us I feel that some of the lessons will quickly be lost, particularly the ways in which government entities and NGOs were not there for the people, but how neighbors engaging in mutual aid were. Nonetheless, I was really excited for a week (hopefully) free of disaster.

Unfortunately for the Learners and Facilitators, we were still going to be remote on Monday and Tuesday, our last two days of cycle six. We were remote for all of cycle five (January) because of the latest Covid-19 wave, and for the first week and a half of cycle six. Then we were remote because of inclement weather and the deep freeze for the next week and a half. The reason we are remote for the last two days of the cycle is because they are planned remote days as per our contingency planning document that allow us to have at least nine days between cycles so that Learners can observe for symptoms before coming back together in new cells to limit the potential spread if someone in our community were to become infected. And even though we had not been in-person all cycle (all calendar year), if we came together on Monday and Tuesday it would not allow us to have that necessary separation from one another. I asked Learners and their families to make firm commitments to be in-person or remote by Tuesday so that we could set the cells for the next cycle during our Professional Development Day on Wednesday.

That morning I also read a wonderful article, “Why Did We Ever Send Sick Kids to School?” It discusses the impact of rewards around attendance and the punitive ways that schools have enforced compulsory attendance that directly harm both children and families, but also the ways that it harms everyone in terms of public health. They also pivoted to talking about how this focus on attendance at school also distorts “American culture, which places a high value on productivity, pushing yourself, and “soldiering through” illness in nearly every line of work." It was an excellent article. But there was one glaring error in the article. It said, "schools place a premium on attendance because it is associated with academic performance." That is not accurate. Schools place a premium on attendance because it is associated with seat time revenue.

Morning meeting

Back to Abrome. Being remote we came together for our morning meeting at 10:00 a.m., as usual. Facilitator Lauren was facilitating. For game shifting she said that we would go in alphabetical order by first name. While it seemed like a fun way to pass off from one person to the next, it worked out terribly as for whatever reason most Learners were not eager to figure out who they would speak after, leading to very long pauses in the meeting. Because we had a strong turnout for the meeting this really stretched out the length of the meeting leading to it going over the 15-minute target for the facilitator of the meeting.

Facilitator Lauren said, “springtime is not until March 20th, and even then it can still be very cold. After experiencing the Texas freeze, share one or two ways that you will prepare to be comfortable during a cold Abrome day [since we will be meeting outdoors].” Most of the answers were similar: bring warm drinks; buy more leggings, make sure I always have water and food, and an extra pair of socks; no cotton [cotton kills], dress in layers, wear a hat; wear more clothes; just wear warm clothes and bring a blanket; wear gloves; “wear shorts, I always do” [this is not recommended], wear huge black or tan snow / hiking pants; arson [bad joke], bring a jacket; wear a jacket and gloves if really cold; wear a jacket; wear warm clothes; bring a jacket. We were hoping to get a broader diversity of responses, but at least everyone seems to understand that how we dress is just as important as how bad the weather is.

After the morning meeting I had two back-to-back one-to-one check-ins scheduled as the lack of internet the prior week forced me to cancel many of them. I had a nice long conversation for the first check-in with a Learner that has been remote now for four cycles. I talked about us going back in-person and how the next cycle was our only two-week cycle of the year and how much I hoped that he would consider joining us. After that he brought up the issue of body cameras for law enforcement, and then we discussed whether or not it was a net positive or negative for police to have body cameras. He spoke positively about accountability and being able to better understand situations, and I spoke about my personal experience of having police and prosecutors refuse to release footage when it shows police doing harm, and the failure of the police and prosecutors to use those videos to punish or prosecute the police, but how they will eagerly use the video against victims of police brutality. It was a lively discussion but we both made room for the other person to share their viewpoints. Because the other Learner did not show up for his one-to-one I was able to extend out the first check-in for an extra 15 minutes.

At 10:45 a.m. we got back into our daily 7-minute workout routine after only being able to do it twice the prior week. All but one showed up from the usual crew, and we all really felt the workout while at the same time being very grateful for having the opportunity to do it again. We gave each other high fives and then departed.

Next up was Facilitator Ariel’s breakfast chat that only Facilitator Lauren showed up for. They enjoyed being able to spend time chatting with each other and I’m really enjoying seeing their personal friendship flourish at Abrome. I have been part of too many communities (e.g., military, investment banking, activist groups) where there is animosity and dislike between people and that has such a caustic, corrosive effect on the culture of a community. Meanwhile, I was on a call with a Learner at their request. During the call they asked for some clarification on their responsibility to others and articulated some clear boundaries they wanted honored. I was surprised to hear what they had to say, but so grateful for them having the trust in me and the community to be able to share their concerns. I hope that we can continue to build trust so that Learners always feel able to self-advocate and set boundaries.

With a rare window of availability in time, and with the roads free of ice, I was able to make a long overdue trip to the bank in the middle of the day to deposit some tuition checks I had been holding onto since the beginning of the month. Meanwhile, Facilitator Lauren hosted her art and fart offering which we really did anticipate being popular among a subset of Learners. It never really took off. But Facilitator Ariel did drop in. Then I had my free write offering which no one showed up for but that I used for some dedicated writing time. We have been hosting these offerings to hold space for Learners during this unfortunate remote period during this pandacademic year, so we get the value of it, but it is still disappointing when Learners do not take up the offerings. But we are a Self-Directed Education community and we value their autonomy and consent, so we do not demand it, either. Meanwhile, we are getting good turnout in morning and afternoon meetings, and most check-ins, so clearly they are valuing connection. But it’s pretty overwhelming from our perspective—we cannot wait to be back in-person again.

Book reading offering

Former Facilitator Jennifer sent me a message two weeks ago encouraging me to read How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski. I did, and then I decided to host an offering where I would read it to anyone who showed up. I originally scheduled it for last week but rescheduled it twice thanks to the freeze. At 2:30 p.m., I read the book to the two Facilitators and one young Learner who showed up for the offering. A couple of times during the reading we stopped to discuss an experience that was shared by Stefanski, an actually autistic kid. We talked about the ways that some of his experiences related to our experiences, and we talked about things we have observed, particularly in schoolish settings in the past.

Facilitator Ariel started the afternoon roundup at 3:30 p.m. with a review of the Community Awareness Board, and then opened up the meeting to announcements. Next he asked everyone to close their eyes and think of a happy memory. Then he asked what color was most prominent, and the associated memory if they wanted to share it. Interestingly, there were a lot of earthy responses.

• browns: running in the mud, climbing trees, and the color of my mom’s arms

• orange/brown: a loved one gifted her a book that she wanted for a long time and it had a hard orange/brown cover with ridged pages

• cardinal red: when I was deployed to Iraq I got my broken admissions binder to Stanford weeks late in a very beat up package, and inside the cardinal red binder was a note from the dean of admissions saying I got accepted to the MBA program, meaning that I had a plan for after the military which I could not leave quickly enough

• blue: the color of the swimming pool I swam in on my 11th birthday

• yellowish color of drywall: the color of the wall from a time I was playing Minecraft with a friend on his mom’s computer in his mom’s room

• blue and green: being outside with family

• green: an animation color

• black and white: because of the colors of the bird Carolina chickadee

• green: frog

• green: I like being in the woods, and the time I went canoeing in an old metal canoe on a green watered lake

After the afternoon roundup all the Learners bolted and the Facilitators recapped and discussed the events of the day in our daily after action review meeting. We also talked about the professional development that we had planned for Wednesday, and agreed on a public park that we could come together to hold it at, masked and distanced, of course. It was a long day and we were ready to log off for the day, so we said goodbye. I then spent my evening taking Cuddle Buddies Ivan and Ingrid on a very long walk, delivering a workbook on decolonizing non-violent communication to a local activist, and reading.

Parenting, Schooling, and Planning the Future For Your Child

It is easy for parents to get caught up in the belief that it is their responsibility to identify a pathway for their child to proceed down en route to a successful life, and then direct them down that pathway. Likewise for educators, it is easy to believe that it is their responsibility to shape children and adolescents into eager students who will go to college, which will lead to success. It is easy to believe that the more we push children, demand of them, direct them, and handhold them, the more likely it is that the child will become a success. That is the narrative that society pushes, oftentimes blaming parents and educators for not doing enough, not doing it earlier, and not doing it with more rigor. 

Parents and educators do not deserve so much of the credit or blame when it comes to shaping children into successful adults. First, the way we define success is problematic in itself (consider what success means to you in light of these 5 deathbed regrets and these 24 regrets). Second, social and economic conditions that children are born into have a far greater impact on their future than proactive parenting or schooling does, and ignoring this most often leads to forms of victim blaming and practices that promote it (e.g., grit). And third, adults overestimate the benefits they provide to young people by way of deliberately trying to guide them down certain pathways, while grossly underestimating the harm they can cause by doing so.

Parents and educators generally want the best for children. They want a world where their children come out ahead, or at least keep pace. And the more that parents and educators try to prevent children from taking full control of their lives; because they fear the children will make suboptimal or wrong choices, or that they won't go down the right path; the more likely it is that they will deter the children from finding out who they are, where they want to take their lives, and how to make the most of it. In an attempt to put them on a right path, they end up moving each child away from an authentic, unique path that best fits each one of them. Some young people find ways to rebound; many do not. As a whole, adults end up doing more harm than good.

A better way forward for parents and educators is to focus on removing the obstacles that prevent young people from taking control of their education and lives. Addressing trauma or psychological distress is an obvious place to start. Next, remove toxic environmental conditions (e.g., bullying), or remove children from such toxic environments. Then, remove structures and practices (e.g., compulsory attendance, mandated curriculum) that undermine self-efficacy and prevent them from taking charge of their lives. Then, step back and breathe. 

Note, removing these obstacles does not mean removing adversity or denying them the opportunity to experience failure. All of the aforementioned obstacles inhibit growth, are not natural, and are unnecessary. When young people are able to focus their time and effort on their interests they will stretch themselves through meaningful challenges that move them further down their own pathways. 

It is time that we adults stop seeing ourselves as authority figures, decision makers, guides, or the ones who will protect children from themselves. It is time that we instead see ourselves as sounding boards, helpers, resource providers, and living examples of people who are leading remarkable lives themselves. 

If you also believe that we need to elevate the role of children and adolescents in their own lives then we encourage you to get involved in what we are doing at Abrome. 

Abrome Weekly Update: May 26, 2017

This week at Abrome: everyone back at Abrome, attendance optional, Finding Dory, admissions update, and public presentations.

Abrome extends academic calendar to 210 days; attendance still optional

Abrome is uninterested in replicating the practices and structures of schooling. For example, when we launched Abrome this past August, we committed to never subjecting young people to classroom instruction, homework, or testing, because those are oppressive practices that undermine learning. One practice that we felt we could not yet move away from was the 180-day academic year.[1] This coming year, we are introducing a year-round, 210-day academic calendar. 

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This year, Abrome operated on an 11-month schedule consisting of 180 days.

The standard American school, public and private, requires students to attend classes for 180 days over a nine-month period. Year-round schools typically stick to the 180-day schedule, but they stretch it out over 11 or 12 months, giving students and teachers more frequent one- or two-week breaks throughout the year in lieu of a three month summer break.[2] A small minority of schools extend the academic year calendar without adding in additional breaks, giving the schools more instructional days.

Within the current schooling system, year-round schooling has palpable benefits in terms of testing and efficiency. Summer learning loss is attributed to long summer vacations, and it requires teachers to spend time each fall reviewing material that the students had supposedly learned the prior year. This eats into instructional time that could be used to move students further into their standardized curriculum. Additionally, there is a maintenance aspect of constantly having students in school and engaged in required academic material, because when there is not intrinsic motivation to master material that is going to be tested, schools are best served by repeatedly drilling students to keep material top of mind.[3]

From the vantage point of traditional schools, because they are typically measured by how their students perform on standardized tests, the aforementioned arguments for year-round schooling are quite compelling.[4][5] However, the benefits of year-round schooling extend to teachers, students, and families, as well. Teachers and students are less likely to experience burn out when there are more frequent breaks throughout the year. And studies show that although only about 50% of parents support year-round schooling before implementation, nearly 80% of parents support it after implementation.[6] Some of the benefits to families include reduced family conflict,  fewer childcare challenges over the summer, and the ability to take family vacations during off-peak travel periods.  

However, the reason Abrome is moving to a year-round, 210-day academic calendar has nothing to do with the benefits that traditional schools would garner from it. We are focused on helping young people lead remarkable lives so they can positively impact society and improve the human condition. In order to lead a remarkable life, one must become a lifelong learner. Meaningful educational experiences cannot be confined to the four walls of a school for 7 hours a day, 180 days and 9 months a year, for 13 years. At Abrome, we want to provide a safe space for Learners to be able to engage in deep, meaningful, and enduring learning experiences throughout the year, including the summer.

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Next year, Abrome will operate on a year-round, 210-day schedule.

In order to tear down the notion that learning only happens at school, attendance at Abrome is optional, and we will highly encourage Learners to take at least 30 days off during the academic year to engage in off-site learning experiences. Abrome is a space where Learners can come to engage in self-directed learning, collaborate with other Learners, receive guidance from Learning Coaches, and recharge before their next learning challenge.

This new 210-day, year-round academic calendar also provides significantly more flexibility to Learners and their families. With an additional thirty days per academic year, Abrome Learners and families will not feel conflicted about taking time off for family vacations, summer camps, internships, or community service opportunities. For Learners who have friends in traditional schools, they can take time off when their friends are freed from school. For Abrome parents who have children at multiple schools, they can organize their schedules around the more inflexible academic calendars of traditional schools. And fundamentally in alignment with our educational philosophy, Abrome Learners will be able to take time off as they see fit for any other reasons they may have, without having to provide justification.

1.     We underestimated the extent to which Learners would want to be at Abrome. The most common complaint we hear when Abrome Learners come back from break is that they wish there were less breaks, and that they could not wait to return.

2.     For our first year at Abrome, we stretched 180 academic days over 11 months.

3.     http://www.nayre.org/questions.html

4.     Affluent high schools are also measured by the selectivity of the colleges their students end up matriculating into. Fortunately for the overwhelming majority of affluent high schools that refuse to move away from the traditional model of schooling, college admissions is highly correlated with family income.

5.     For the sake of brevity, we did not list other benefits of a year-round schedule for schools such as higher utilization rates of facilities and the ability to accommodate more students by offsetting the start dates of different groups of students.

6.     Palmer; Bemis (1999). "Alternative Calendars: Extended Learning and Year-Round Programs,". University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.