Agency, attention, mistakes, and school

Agency, attention, mistakes, and school

Agency is the capacity to choose and act on your own behalf, and may be a hallmark of life. A rock just sits there, but living creatures can do things, can take actions. Even bacteria detect and move towards nutrients, making choices and taking action in a primitive...
Infinity and the backyard bell tower

Infinity and the backyard bell tower

Nature impels us to avoid death and seek infinity. Call the first a biological imperative and the second a spiritual imperative. The first is the survival instinct. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests you must satisfy the first before you can do much about the...

Washington gridlock and democratic schools

Tomorrow we Americans elect a president. Two days ago we Circle Schoolers hosted a group of families and educators here, telling them about life in our democratic school. Now I’m thinking about the connection between Washington gridlock and American schools....

Low Test Scores Are Not The Problem

Of course all this talk of assessment and global competition treats children as raw materials in a government-run factory, rather than human beings with their own hopes, interests, and talents. Education policy should be centered on children and families, not money and power. Public funding should promote innovation and variety in schools, rather than uniformity and standards. It’s good for children, families, society and, yes, a thriving global economy.

A Regular Person

A few days ago I experienced my 29th first-day-of-school at The Circle School, and I imagined what a child’s first first day might be like… It’s your first day at The Circle School and you are Alice down the rabbit hole. You are in a strange new...