This spring my friend Blake Boles invited me to recruit some young people to do a panel about self-directed learning with Howard Blumenthal, the creator and producer of the PBS television series, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Howard now hosts a weekly education reform podcast with Steve Hargadon called Reinventing School.
The panel included three young people, including North Star member Tove Schweitzer. We had a rollicking conversation, starting with Howard’s surprise at the simplicity with which Tove declared, “I decided to leave school last year.” The other teens expressed joy and appreciation for their opportunities to control their own learning, and Howard shared his enthusiasm and hesitancies for what he was hearing.
I thought this conversation was particularly fun and informative. I fear I may not have showed appropriate deference to someone of Howard’s achievements, but perhaps my energy and directness is part of my charm?
I value every chance to share our work with people who have access to a larger audience, and I look forward to following up with Howard and hearing more of his thoughts on integrating our approach into his perspective on education reform. Thanks as well to Howard’s podcast colleague Steve Hargadon for making this session happen.
You can listen to the podcast here.