by Ken Danford | Nov 1, 2021 | self-directed learning
We are sending out our Fall newsletter this week. Some of you will receive a hard copy in your mailbox (old style!), and here is a link to the digital version for all of you. The feature story is written by current North Star member Tove Schweitzer. Her story is...
by Ken Danford | Oct 20, 2021 | self-directed learning
By now, everyone reading this blog knows that Grace’s book changed my life. When Grace decided to open The Hive, a center modeled after North Star, and join our Liberated Learners network, I felt a unique moment of fulfillment. Our team at North Star had inspired our...
by Ken Danford | Sep 20, 2021 | self-directed learning
We’ve had two weeks of in-person activity at North Star! Teens are inside the building for the first time since March 2020: going to classes, sitting on couches, cooking in the kitchen! I am seeing my colleagues face-to-face on a daily basis. We are re-establishing...
by Ken Danford | Aug 1, 2021 | self-directed learning
Mid-July, about 30 minutes into a meeting with a new family, sitting at the table in the North Star office area: Youth: “I’m done with this meeting. I’ve heard enough. Can we go?” Youth looks around, realizes that their comment sounded a bit harsh. Youth: “I mean, I...
by Ken Danford | Jul 15, 2021 | self-directed learning
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...