Reschool Yourself

About Me

I resisted starting a blog for many years because of pages like this one. “Hey, can I tell you something about me? Hey, want to know more about ME?”

My name is Melia Jordan Mei Kwai Dicker. It takes up two lines on my driver’s license and causes confusion at will-call and airport security. I currently live in Sonoma, California, where I grew up and went to elementary and middle school.

I went to public elementary and middle schools, then to a private high school and college, all traditional. At some point in my schooling, I began to sacrifice my health and happiness for achievement. I became dependent on rewards and avoidant of mistakes, then went on to continue these habits in my adult life, grappling with stress, workaholism, and self-care. I’m not quite sure when or how these things happened, but by golly, I would sure like to figure it out — so that I can change them.

Here’s the official bio:

Melia Dicker is a writer and educator who has worked with students of all ages in the U.S. and abroad. She has a degree in Psychology from Santa Clara University and is an alumna and board member of AmeriCorps’ Public Allies. Melia co-founded Spark, a nonprofit organization providing youth with leadership development and apprenticeships in their dream jobs. She co-directed Spark for four years, overseeing summer and after-school programs and building community partnerships, and she remains on the Board of Directors.

Melia is currently undertaking a project called Reschool Yourself, in which she revisits her education by participating in her old classrooms from kindergarten through college. She is maintaining a blog and writing a book about her experiences, as well as facilitating discussions about how schools can help children develop into autonomous adults. She believes in self-directed learning that develops young people’s curiosity, resourcefulness, and character. Melia is passionate about bridging differences between alternative and traditional educators, as well as using personal narrative to introduce democratic education to mainstream audiences.

Here are some alternative versions of the bio, all completely true:

*      Melia took a series of odd jobs while starting Spark. She once spent all day on a ropes course platform 50 feet off the ground, harnessing 7th graders to a zip line. She sorted through online merchant reviews to remove the inappropriate ones, and she had to consult the British-American dictionary to see if words like “stroppy” were inappropriate. (It means “irritable.”) She even critiqued several varieties of frozen broccoli with cheese as a food taster.

*      Deprived of scary movies as a child, Melia became obsessed with slasher films during middle and high school. She has seen the entire Halloween, Friday the 13th, Puppet Master, and Nightmare on Elm Street series, except for the most recent sequels (her obsession ended around 1998). She also admits to having seen most of the Child’s Play and Basket Case movies, investing hours of her life that she will never get back.

*     The only trophies and ribbons Melia has earned are from elementary and middle school spelling bees. Her most prized spelling bee ribbon was lettered in gold with the word “FNALIST.”

*      Melia enjoys long walks on the beach and candlelight dinners. She is also fond of rainbows and puppies.