Remember The Baby Project? In my Christian Lifestyles class senior year, there were more girls than boys, so I partnered up with my best friend Katie to parent a flour baby. Most of the pairs in the class gave their babies trendy names like “Taylor Jean” or “Skylar Marie.” We named ours “Bossu Manon-Jean DiGuire.” Katie had just watched two French movies about a hunchback (bossu in French) named Jean (soft French pronunciation) and his lady love, Manon. We combined Katie’s last name, McGuire, with Dicker to form the fashionable “DiGuire.” Our classmates thought that naming our child “Hunchback” was cruel, but we preferred to see it as original. Katie grew up with such a common name that she wanted to make sure little Bossu stood out among her peers.

I’m not sure how much responsibility we learned from the project. I remember a couple of instances where Katie left our flour baby in our locker, or out on senior patio where anyone could have snatched her and baked her into cookies.

Aren’t the headless babies above a little creepy, especially the one that looks like it’s on a butcher block? (It’s actually an art table.)Similar Posts:

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This week’s TIME Magazine features an article called “At the Blue Man Group’s School, Kids Rule.” The founders of the quirky Blue Man Group, the popular performance art team, started a school in New York City for 61 kids in kindergarten and younger. The school will add a grade each year, eventually enrolling kindergarten through fifth graders. Tuition is a jaw-dropping $27,300 per year, comparable with other elementary schools in Manhattan.

Chris Wink, one of the founders, says that the school is “sort of a support group for people whose creativity had been all but squeezed out of them by education.” He says, “At one point, we asked, What if there was a school you didn’t have to recover from, that didn’t make you question the idea of being creative?” The physical environment of the school is set up for exploring, climbing, and expanding the imagination: for example, the Wonder Room features a climbing wall and a floor programmed with games that lights up. Kids choose their own activities, and teachers emphasize inquiry over instruction. Read the brief feature here and watch the TIME’s Blue School video here.

Thanks to Kathleen Doise and Jill Hisaw for forwarding the TIME article.

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Your Two Cents: Leave a Comment!

- If you went to this school, what would you enjoy about it? What would you find challenging?

- What questions does this school raise for you?Similar Posts:

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The purpose of Op/Education is to raise awareness about the variety of school options that exist for people of all ages. I wish more than anything that I’d been aware of educational options while I was a student, so I could have chosen the one that best suited me. For people raising kids now and in the future, understanding their options and values can make a big impact on their children’s development. For those of us adults seeking ways to educate and develop ourselves as adults, knowing about graduate programs, community or online classes, books, and other resources could give us needed guidance.

I’m excited to share the programs I’ve visited over the years, and to hear your opinions on them. I’d also like for you to introduce the alternative programs you know about. If this interests you, email me so I can either write about the programs myself or feature you as a guest blogger. I look forward to swapping knowledge with y’all.Similar Posts:

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I’m not sure if it’s jet-lag, or lack of sleep, or feeling bulldozed by my three intense months of reschooling so far, but my head has felt foggy for the last couple of days. These are the big challenges dragging down my energy, and the little steps I’m taking to cope:

1. Some days, the Information Age sucks my soul.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep up with all my emails, or the news. I feel constantly bombarded by information: interesting articles from my news junkie friends; holiday plans; details for my sister’s bachelorette party; research on one website that leads me to another….and another…until I forget what I had been searching for in the first place. No wonder my brain feels full all the time, without space for anything new to enter.

What I’m doing about it:

• Clearing off my computer desktop and closing browser windows at least once per week.
• Setting up Gmail filters and tags, and moving mail from my Inbox to the Archives where at least I don’t have to look at it.
• Finishing one task without getting distracted by another.

2. I used to think I knew what career would suit me, but now I’m not so sure.

During the time Chris and I were starting Spark, some of my friends had serious angst about what they wanted to do with their careers. I never quite empathized then, since I had committed so fully to building an organization that I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Now that I’ve moved on, I find myself lost in the confusion that most people felt after college graduation. After my own graduation, I took on one intense experience after another in rapid succession — Spain, Public Allies, and Spark — so this is the first time I’ve really stepped back to consider what kind of work will make me happy. Call me a late bloomer.

Yesterday I went with Darren to visit one of his Graphic Design professors, Daniela, at Loyola University. While I very much enjoyed meeting Daniela and seeing Darren’s old stomping ground, I spent most of the visit quietly freaking out. Hearing Darren and Daniela talk passionately about their design careers made it even more apparent to me that I’m not yet sure exactly what I want to do with my life — or even the next few years. I know that I feel about education and psychology and writing the way Darren and his professor feel about design, but I’m still figuring out how I want to blend these into a career.

What I’m doing about it:

• Brainstorming the possibilities and sitting with the uncertainty. Maybe I’ll get a Master’s degree in writing….or education, or psychology. Maybe I’ll become a counselor focused on schooling issues, or an education writer. As intimidating as it is not to know what I want to do, I’m grateful to have options and at least know what fields inspire me.
• Focusing on short-term action. I have plenty to do in just the next few months: clear out my clutter in Sonoma, set up my spring learning opportunities, and draft a book proposal, to name a few. Instead of trying to figure out my entire future today, I can envision possibilities for the long-term future while taking action right now.

3. When I’m not tightly scheduled, inertia and anxiety quickly settle in.

Yesterday I spent hours in a coffee shop with Gill and Darren, and I felt blocked from jumping back into writing or moving Reschool Yourself forward. I felt as if my fingers were typing through the same molasses that had coated my brain.

What I’m doing about it:

• Aborting mission and trying again the next day. Last night, given the late hour, I decided to put the blogging to rest and do something at which I knew I could succeed: drinking wine and eating loads of salsa with melted cheese. In the past, I would have kept pushing myself to no avail, so I felt pleased that I could enjoy the company of my friends even though I hadn’t accomplished all I’d wanted to.
• Figuring out what manageable accomplishment will ease my anxiety and making that a priority. If archiving emails will clear my head, I want to start the day by getting it out of the way. If making that dreaded phone call and paying bills tie my stomach in knots, I’ll knock them off the list first so that doing anything else that day will feel like a bonus.

As the image of the fog suggests, even though I can’t see the entire road ahead, I can focus for now on figuring out my immediate next steps. As I do that over the next few weeks, I will continue to update the blog regularly, so keep reading.Similar Posts:

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Here’s the plan for the next few weeks:

• Through 11/16: Public Allies board meeting in Milwaukee, and the weekend in Chicago with friends.
• 11/16 - 12/3: In Jackson visiting Darren. I’ll be processing the K-12 journey and writing about many of the experiences I’ve been dying to share but haven’t had time. Expect flashbacks all the way to the start of my reschooling in kindergarten, and handouts galore.
• 12/3 - 12/6: Santa Clara University. I get to stay in the dorms and visit classes. I’ll also be making a presentation to a UC Berkeley Education class about Reschool Yourself.
• 12/6 - 12/24: School follow-ups and educational autobiography. As I draft the book proposal, I’ll pop back into my old classrooms to snap photos and ask follow-up questions. I’ll also go through old photos and keepsakes from each grade to piece together an “educational autobiography” that traces my evolution through school. I think everyone could benefit from doing this, and I’ll share my own process.
• Spring - I promise to write an update in the next few days about what the spring will hold.

Stay tuned. I’m looking forward to sharing amusing anecdotes and my conclusions thus far, as well as hearing about your school experiences. Thanks to those of you who are sharing — I’ve always intended for the site to be a forum for people to reflect on their education and story-swap. To those of you who are reading but don’t comment….PLEASE COMMENT! It would be nice to know that you’re out there.Similar Posts:

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I have just a few minutes to post before I leave St. Vincent High School, so this post will be much shorter and more off the cuff than usual. I spent my lunch period talking with my old principal — who now teaches World History — and I ended up skipping Literature class because we were having such an in-depth conversation. We talked about how the school has changed and remained the same, what we hope formal education does for students, and how we’ve changed as individuals over the years. The conversation reminded me of how much I love St. Vincent High School, and that feeling has stayed with me all day. I’ve had similar conversations with several of my old teachers during the last couple of weeks, and they’ve been the highlight of my visit. I am trying to make sense of this paradox: I suffered quite a bit in the school system and believe it’s in need of major change, but I love this school that is a part of that system.

Even when I was a student, I always appreciated the teachers and the community. Even the teachers that have a traditional authoritative style sincerely care about their students, respect their opinions, and get to know them on a personal level. They make it clear to students that they matter. Although I believe that the school system has gone wrong in many ways — including memorization of specialized material, strict rules, and competitive grading — something is right with my high school, and with my elementary and middle schools. What’s right with my schools is the people. Generally speaking, the teachers are doing their best within a very complicated system that has taken on a life of its own, perpetuated by thousands of people and institutions, parents and administrators and the whole University of California system. Most don’t even realize that schools can look completely different than the norm, and that they may not need some of the components we assume they do. 

I want to explore this idea more fully, and to write about some of the diverse schools I’ve seen around the world, but for now I wanted to clarify my position on my schooling. I’ve said before on the blog that in many ways my schooling opened opportunities for me, and in other ways it limited them, at least in my perception. I’ve been very aware in the last few years of the limitations and the regrets, but spending time at my old schools this fall has made me appreciate the wonderful things that I took away from my education, despite its flaws. I have relationships with some of the kindest and most fascinating teachers I could ask for. They introduced me to the likes of Gail Godwin and Edward Hopper and Jean-Paul Sartre, and they modeled professionalism, dedication, and compassion. Although I would have changed a lot of things about the school system and the intense way I participated in it, I wouldn’t change a lot of things about my education. And as I technically graduate high school today, I am grateful for this perspective.Similar Posts:

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As I’ve mentioned, I’m packing my high school experience into an intense couple of weeks, so I’ve already shadowed a freshman, sophomore, and a junior so far. I’d forgotten that shadowing was common practice at St. Vincent…for eighth graders scoping out the school, that is. The high schoolers deduce that I’m not in eighth grade and ask me, puzzled, “Are you coming here?” “What grade are you in?”

Most teachers had me introduce myself and explain Reschool Yourself, and in general, I saw a lot of blank stares. Maybe I could introduce the project in a catchier way, but I just don’t think that students will get it until they’ve graduated. The high schoolers seem to be so immersed in their school experience that they can’t see beyond it, to step back and reflect on it. Most can’t seem to imagine school being any different, and they certainly don’t understand why I’d want to repeat school if I didn’t have to.

Just a few highlights:

- Taking Spanish classes for the first time in years

- Having in-depth conversations with several of my former teachers

- Being part of the winning P.E. team in ultimate frisbee for two days straight

- Hearing my former teacher Mr. Riley recite the prologue of The Canterbury Tales in accented Middle English, from memory

- Debating my biology teacher on whether achievement makes people happy, and hearing his ideal vision for a school (turns out, it’s my nightmare)

- Finding it liberating to get average scores on quizzes

- Building a meditation labyrinth on the baseball diamond with the Catholicism class and walking it by candlelight that night

- Realizing how I used to say “like” every two seconds, as a lot of the high school girls do, but I’ve outgrown it

- Charting progress: I’m able to be myself at St. Vincent more now than I ever could - or would - while I was in high school, and my Spanish has improved immensely from living abroad

Tomorrow I shadow the same junior I started with on Friday, and I finish out my high school experience with a senior on Wednesday. I can guarantee that I’ll be writing about high school over the following weeks, when I’m in the south for Thanksgiving. In the meantime, I’m really enjoying being among my old teachers and their new students, back in my small St. Vincent community.Similar Posts:

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This week, I’ve noticed a few underlying assumptions about students — which I’ve noticed at other schools, too — that give me pause. Whether stated or not, they seem to be taken for granted, and include the following:

1. Students wouldn’t come to school if they didn’t have to and are therefore thrilled to have days off.

My observation: The general merriment around the Veteran’s Day holiday. When one teacher reminded the students about it, one guy said sarcastically, “Oh yeahhh, I almost forgot. It’s not like I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.”

2. They hate homework.

My observation: Groans and complaints when teachers give too much homework, and teachers’ statements like, “If we take our quiz Friday, then you’ll have no homework over the weekend!”

3. Beginning their junior year, they have academic priorities that are more important than physical fitness.

My observation: P.E. is required only of freshmen and sophomores. This article from The Onion, “Majority of Americans Never Use Physical Education After High School,” might explain why.

4. They must follow guidelines that don’t bind adults.

My observation: I’m going to single out one my former (and favorite) teachers by sharing this observation. When I was snapping photos in the hallway with my digital camera, he tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to hand over the camera. When I turned around and he realized who I was, he looked sheepish, apologized to me, and said lightly to the students nearby, “She’s authorized.”

5. Everyone expects that they won’t remember or use most class material after they graduate.

My observation: Teachers and students tend to be surprised that I remember any of the high school curriculum at all. In order to show how poorly a typical adult does when quizzed on curriculum, I’m willing to risk personal embarrassment. While shadowing in both middle and high school, I’ve taken several quizzes cold, without having studied or attended class. I’ll write a separate post about this experience, but I can tell you that I remember very, very little of middle and high school material in most subjects. Even the fourth and fifth grade lessons on photosynthesis and long division would have stumped many adult professionals. Why do students have to spend so many hours memorizing this material if they’re expected to forget it shortly after being tested on it?

Teachers, when asked, will often admit freely that they know most students won’t ever do say, problems with cosines or joules, after graduation. In fact, one of my teachers said these three surprising things to me:

One: “Most people won’t use algebra and calculus after high school.” He added that they’re used mostly for specific tasks within fields like engineering.

Two: “It’s a shame that students are required to take Algebra II in high school” (usually to meet the admissions guidelines for the University of California.) He’d rather they invest the time in studying something of interest to them.

Three: “During my senior year of college, a professor told me that I’d forget 90 percent of what I learned in college two years after graduating. Well, I swore that I’d prove that professor wrong, and I did: I forgot 90 percent of the material a year and a half after graduating.”

Think back to all that material on all those tests you studied for, even in subjects that interested you. Honestly, how much of it can you recall on the spot, and how useful is it to be able to do that? If you happen to be an E.R. doctor, it might be good to know the anatomy of the respiratory system without having to Google it, but the rest of us normally have the luxury of looking things up if the need arises.

I’m sure that we’ve all had certain learning experiences that have sparked our interest, introduced us to new perspectives or new subjects; we may have even had teachers who helped us “learn how to learn,” which has become a popular saying. I’m curious about the situations where this happened for us, and how we can have more of those and less of the stuff that we did because we had to. Perhaps there’s a way where, from an early age, we can each spend our time in school on what we love to do.

Inspired by my observations this past week, I’d like to pose a few questions to you. I do so with the utmost respect to my teachers, and to teachers everywhere. I’d like for readers — teachers, students, and alumni alike — to remember their own experiences and answer whichever questions they like by posting a comment.

1. What elements would your ideal high school have, so that you would have attended purely out of interest and enjoyment?

2. What impact did homework have on you?

3. Did it make sense to you to have to take P.E. only until a certain age? What impact did P.E. have on you?

4. Which rules at your school applied only to students and not to adults?

5. What did you study in school that you find useful today, and what is not very useful? How much material can you recite from memory, versus what you look up as needed?
Similar Posts:

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Just being in certain spaces has triggered deja vu more than a few times. As I walk through the halls, I search for the faces of my old classmates without thinking. Strangely enough, there’s a boy who looks like my classmate Michael, and another who looks like Kingston. When I sit in Mr. Riley’s original Spanish room, I instinctively look around for Siobhan and Erin, and in Mr. G’s room, I expect to see my conversation partners Alicia and Ben. Walking through the double doors to the back parking lot reminds me of our senior prank. Several of the boys pushed Leah’s little orange car through the doors into freshman hall right before the bell rang, so students poured out of their classrooms to find a roadster in front of their lockers. The teachers got upset about the fire hazard and demanded that the car be removed immediately. At the time, I rolled my eyes at their outrage, but now I realize that ruffling their feathers was half the fun.

The school, though changed in a lot of physical ways, feels the same. Here’s an updated — though not complete — list from my post about the tour I took after the reunion:

These things remain the same:

• Lockers, desks, curtains, the indescribable smell of the halls and classrooms. Not unpleasant at all, just very distinct. (Friends who didn’t go to the school have guessed that the smell may be “body odor,” “teenage angst,” or “fear and insecurity.”)
• The statue of Mary with broken fingers (I’ll admit sacrilegiously that the statue reminds me of Chubbs after Happy Gilmore knocks off his wooden hand with a hockey stick).
• The white boards in Mr. O’Toole’s history class, updated regularly with quotes like, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
• Mr. Riley’s neat cursive on the Spanish room board, and Mr. Marcoux’s hand-printed algebra quizzes and worksheets (folded perfectly in half, of course).
• Mr. DeShazer’s biology room, which looks almost exactly the same as when I had Bio in 1995.

These things have changed:

• The two-toned hallway walls are now the colors of “ketchup and mustard,” as the students apparently say.
• $3 million gym, which was in the fundraising stages in ‘98.
• Stronger programs and space for art, music, drama, etc.
• State-of-the-art technology, including interactive whiteboards in several of the classrooms, a fully equipped chemistry lab, and new computers.
• Beautifully remodeled library with new computers. Strangely, the new library was designed with few bookcases, so the school unfortunately got rid of around 1,000 books.
• New murals around the school.
• Extra counseling staff and offices.
• Community garden that produces many pounds of produce each year.

I have to emphasize that the current technology blows my mind. When I graduated in 1998, I don’t think that Internet use had even completely caught on. In class, we watched videos on televisions perched on wheeled carts instead of the pull-down screens the school has today. If I remember correctly, some classrooms still had blackboards with chalk, instead of the modern interactive whiteboards that make my jaw drop. Teachers can project their computer desktops onto the whiteboard, then use a variety of functions like digitally highlighting notes, drawing diagrams in multiple colors, and showing photos and video with the click of a button. They can even control these things from anywhere in the room by using a little drawing tablet, or a wireless mouse. These boards are so intelligent that I’m suspicious they may one day turn the tables on us unsuspecting humans, like the cyborgs in Terminator 2 or the apes in Planet of the Apes.

Despite the physical updates to the campus, with classrooms and offices and parking lots being shifted around, the space is still rife with memories. The muddy track that I’ve run so many times…the spot on the floor in freshman hall where I used to finish homework in the mornings…the multi-purpose room where we held assemblies and occasional Catholic Masses. Tonight I happened to be on campus after dark, and I stood for a long time looking from outside into the empty, brightly lit hallways. I imagined how many little dramas had happened within these walls, how many relationships had begun and ended, how much growth thousands of students had experienced during their four years at the school. I’m still processing all the ways I changed during high school, but I know that my time at SV was one of the most formative periods in my life.

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Your Two Cents - Leave a Comment!

If you’ve been back to your old schools, what spaces triggered memories for you?Similar Posts:

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