Learning is Natural, School is Optional - the North Star Way with Ken Danford
41m
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Modern Education Movement
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For as long as there has been compulsory schooling, students have asked, “Do I really have to go to school through 12th grade? Isn’t there some other way?” The conventional answer most parents respond with is, “No, there is no other way. You just have to make the best of it.” That was what they did, and they survived. That answer didn’t satisfy Kenneth Danford. In 1996, he left his public school teaching job to help students live, learn, and grow in a different environment. He co-founded what became North Star, an alternative to middle school and high school. It’s not a school itself. It’s a Self Directed Learning education center for Teens. They help teens create a life that is meaningful and relevant to them. This experience includes a customized academic plan, weekly meetings with a personal advisor, quarterly family meetings, plus a variety of classes, workshops and tutorials. And they have provided this support to hundreds of students over the past two decades. Most North Star teens go on to college afterwards. Now Kenneth is spreading the North Star model across the world through Liberated Learners, a network of learning centers. He’s also published a book Learning is Natural, School is Optional, which tells the story of North Star. Yes, there are viable and often superior alternatives to traditional school. Today we’ll dive into what North Star is all about to see if that approach is a better fit for you and your family.
The episode Learning is Natural, School is Optional - the North Star Way with Ken Danford from the podcast Modern Education Movement has a duration of
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