Inspiration

BOOKS

Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life
_{Peter Grey}

Learning is Natural, School is Optional
_{Ken Danford}

The Teacher Liberation Handbook: How to Leave School and Create a Place Where You and Young People Can Thrive
_{Joel Hammon}

Punished by Rewards
_{Alfie Kohn}

Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School?
_{Blake Boles}

Adventures in Risky Play: What is Your Yes?
_{Rusty Keeler}

Free-Range Kids
_{Lenore Skenazy}

The Wander Society
_{Keri Smith}

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
_{Richard Louv}

Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning
_{Tom Vanderbilt}

The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives
_{William Stixrud and Ned Johnson}

There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secret to Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids
_{Linda Åkeson McGerk}

Barefoot and Balanced: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children
_{Angela J. Hanscolm}

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WEBSITES & PODCASTS

Rusty Keeler – Adventure Playground Design

Northstar Self-Directed Learning for Teens – The OG SDE center

Princeton Learning Cooperative – Founding Partner of Liberated Learners

Liberated Learners – Network of SDE centers for teens

Agile Learning Centers – Network of SDE centers

Philly ALC – An ALC in S Philadelphia

Blake Boles – Writer, speaker, etc, Blake’s podcast got me started on this path

Let Grow – Lenore Skenazy’s advocacy group for free-range families

Brightworks – An amazing school in San Francisco

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VIDEOS & TED TALKS

Ken Robinson – TED Talk: Changing Education Paradigms – The gateway drug video for so many people to begin to think of schooling in new ways

Ken Robinson – TED Talk: Do schools kill creativity? – Robinson’s amazing talk on schooling expanding on his RSA Animate talk.

Logan LaPlante – TEDx University of Nevada: Hackschooling makes me happy – An inside look into what can happen when young people begin to take ownership over their education

Ken Danford – TEDx Amhurst College: School is Optional – Ken’s talk describing his journey from conventional schooling to opening Northstar.

Joel Hammon – TEDx Carnegie Lake: Teacher Liberation – Joel’s story about liberating himself as well as teenagers from conventional schooling via Princeton Learning Cooperative

Peter Gray – Self Directed Learning Fundamentals – A concise snapshot of Peter Gray’s core tenets of how learning works best.