by Ken Danford | Jul 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
The rise of Black Lives Matter and the protests against police brutality this spring have led me to reconnect with a high school program I helped to start back in 1983, The Shaker Heights High School Student Group on Race Relations (SGORR.) This reconnection was also...
by Ken Danford | Jun 8, 2020 | self-directed learning
A few months ago, I took up my friend Blake Boles’ recommendation to read the 2019 book, Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice, in which Shawn Peters and James Dwyer offer a detailed history of the modern homeschooling movement and then...
by Ken Danford | May 26, 2020 | self-directed learning
When I started teaching at Andrew Jackson Middle School in Suitland, MD in 1991, I had visions of Jaime Escalante, featured in the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, as my inspiration at that time. He had taught his Latino students in Los Angeles to excel on the Advanced...
by Ken Danford | May 11, 2020 | Uncategorized
As a kid, my family, friends, and teachers called me Kenny. I was a bit nerdy, and something of a perfectionist. So when we had to take the annual California Achievement Test, I tried my best to get every answer right. I was annoyed when I didn’t understand the...
by Ken Danford | May 1, 2020 | self-directed learning
Before Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that public schools will be closed for the remainder of this academic year, he stated that he wanted to re-open public schools in May to administer standardized tests that could determine just how much children...
by Ken Danford | Apr 8, 2020 | self-directed learning
North Star is about two weeks into its online efforts. The main lesson: There is a very important reason that North Star is a community center. Our online efforts to support each other have some highlights, but really, we miss being together. For all that we use...
by Ken Danford | Mar 23, 2020 | self-directed learning
No, everyone is not homeschooling now! If an apartment building burns down and the residents have to temporarily live in tents, we don’t say, “Everyone’s camping now!” like it’s some fun, novel activity. The word “homeschooling” is already problematic enough without...
by Ken Danford | Mar 15, 2020 | self-directed learning
Well, this happened fast! Last weekend I was composing a blog about my objections to testing, using a visit to my parents in Florida as the premise. Well, that trip is canceled, and the topic can wait. (No worries, that blog will come out soon as part of a project I...
by Ken Danford | Mar 1, 2020 | self-directed learning
Here is the text of the presentation I made at the AEROx online conference Feb. 22. This presentation was aimed at people interested in alternative models for schools and programs, including many people considering whether to start something new in their...
