Podcast - Steven Slaughter

Introducing The Envisioning Education Podcast

In the fall of 2021, I decided to hit the road on my quest to learn more about self-directed learning centers. I traveled east from Chicago to New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, visiting centers for teens and younger kids. To capture these experiences, I decided to bring some mobile recording equipment to conduct a series of interviews – a few with adults, but most with the kids themselves. The first six episodes come from that trip and are the start of the Envisioning Education Podcast. (I am awaiting consent forms for ep 5 and 6 and will post those soon, as well as posting everything to podcasting sites.

_{EE Podcast theme music by Skilsel from Pixabay}

Envisioning Education, episode 1: Rusty Keeler

I loved this conversation with Rusty and really enjoyed spending time at The Anarchy Zone, the adventure playground in the Ithaca Children’s Garden. After listening to our conversation, I hope you’ll check out Rusty’s website and his books. I enthusiastically recommend Adventures in Risky Play.

Envisioning Education, episode 2: Matt Jarman

I met Matt at the online summer Agile Learning Facilitator training in July 2021. Matt has relocated to Ithaca, NY to launch Communitas, an ALC learning community, though his vision transcends building one school. Matt is a brilliant guy with an interesting story.

Envisioning Education, episode 3: The Hostell Family

It was fun to sit on the Hostell’s front porch on a beautiful afternoon. I met Heather in our 6-month Another Way course. We were in the first cohort and were also in a small group together, so we got to know each other. As a fellow teacher, we could compare a lot of notes. But as one whose children are now grown, it was really interesting for me to hear from a parent currently diving into unschooling with her kids for the first time. She and her husband and their two kids sat down with me to discuss how it’s going and what’s ahead.

Envisioning Education, episode 4: Northstar: Self-Directed Learning for Teens

I was really excited to finally get to visit a learning center in person. Northstar is, as far as I know, the longest-running center of its kind, and co-founder of the Liberated Learners Network. It was awesome to observe and sit in on classes, and I really appreciate the teens who sat down with me to talk about what it’s like to be a member of a self-directed learning center.

Envisioning Education, episode 5: Princeton Learning Cooperative

PLC is the other co-founder of Liberated Learners, and it was helpful to compare the vibe here to Northstar. We promoted my visit a couple of weeks out, so a lot of kids expressed interest in being interviewed. As such, I did three interviews, which are packed into this episode.