Communities, organizations, videos or reading materials that inspire us:
Learning Communities:
Here are some Learning Communities that are out there doing great things in the world. Check out:
SelfDesign High
http://www.selfdesignhigh.org/ This is our our mother organization. They are doing some amazing things in B.C. and online that we can tap into!
North Star Self Directed Learning for Teens
http://northstarteens.org/
Also check out these youtube videos about North Star: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mlXlSXyW-U and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_6lbn_FNVc&feature=channel&list=UL
Compass Teens Learning Center
http://www.compassteens.org/calendar/classes-at-compass/
Princeton Learning Co-operative
http://princetonlearningcooperative.org/
Sudbury Valley School
http://www.sudval.org/ Make sure you watch the video on the welcome page!
Windsor House
http://windsorhouseschool.org/
Purple Thistle
http://www.purplethistle.ca/ These guys are focused on youth activism.
Tinkering Schools
http://www.improvisedlife.com/2009/10/13/tinkering-schools-for-kids-and-adults/
http://austintinkeringschool.com/
Brightworks
http://sfbrightworks.org/the-brightworks-arc/
Further viewing and reading on education and learning:
Alternative Education Resource Organization: http://www.educationrevolution.org/
Sir Ken Robinson on changing our education paradigm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
To challenge our notions of trust in our kids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0fgtvbMT7k
Here is Blake Boles on opportunities for grown unschoolers: http://www.blakeboles.com/the-grown-unschooler-opportunity-network/
What if high schoolers designed their own schools? Have a look at this video: http://www.good.is/posts/what-if-students-designed-their-own-schools
Hackschooling.... watch this inspired teen talk on TedX about his vision for life and learning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY
Books we like:
SelfDesign: Nurturing Genius Through Natural Learning, by Brent Cameron http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/books/selfdesign-nuturing-genius-through-natural/9781591810445-item.html
How Children Learn, How Children Fail, and Learning All the Time, by John Caldwell Holt http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=how+children+learn
Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, by John Taylor Gatto http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dumbing+us+down&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Adumbing+us+down
The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education, by Mary Griffith http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=teenage+liberation+handbook&sprefix=teenage+lib%2Caps%2C352&rh=n%3A916520%2Ck%3Ateenage+liberation+handbook
Better than College, by Blake Boles http://www.better-than-college.com/
College Without High School, by Blake Boles http://www.collegewithouthighschool.com/
Learn Your Way: Self Designing the Life You Really Want, by Michael Maeser http://learnyourway.ca/