by Jim Rietmulder | Mar 11, 2014 | Daily life, Ideas, Stories
Five minutes before the Hour Of No Rules, I saw Cord and Zach sneaking out of the conference room lavatory. It was Zach who had proposed to suspend the rules for an hour, and brought it to a vote with mischief behind his charming grin. And Cord—well, Cord is our...
by Jim Rietmulder | Jun 24, 2013 | Parenting, Stories
I don’t know whether to call it democratic, or maybe crowd-sourced. Either way, I have never experienced a wedding as I did on Saturday. Well, yes, I was the father of the bride, and so, no, I don’t see it through clear eyes, what with love and tears and...
by Jim Rietmulder | Jun 2, 2013 | Play, Public policy
“Children are biologically predisposed to take charge of their own education.” So says psychologist Peter Gray in his recent new book, Free To Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better...
by Jim Rietmulder | Mar 24, 2013 | Ideas, Public policy
As a teenager in the 1970s, I wanted to be a fifth-grade teacher—an impulse that remains today, perhaps because I still love and listen to my inner nine-year-old. I studied interesting schools back then (still do), and traveled to visit several while still in high...
by Jim Rietmulder | Feb 20, 2013 | Daily life
Last night our judicial team demonstrated for the school community how the wheels of justice go ’round at The Circle School. Simulating what we do every day, they investigated complaints of law-breaking—real cases from a few years ago, with names changed. The...
