Elementary School Category

And I’m not just talking about Tom Cruise moving to Crazytown, USA.
In returning to my elementary school, I never expected to “step into the same river twice.” I knew that the school had changed quite a bit since I attended it from 1985-1991. Over the years, I’d taken occasional walks around the campus and seen [...]

Today, for the first time in 23 years, I went back to kindergarten.
I slept 20 minutes through alarm and woke up with that blasted Billy Madison song stuck in my head (my own fault) and hurriedly got dressed and ate breakfast. With my backpack, notebook, and brown bag lunch, I walked the few blocks to [...]

Ohhhh, back to school….

In: Elementary School

I’ve had the little ditty from Billy Madison stuck in my head all day. (If you don’t know it yet, don’t worry — you will.) Tomorrow is the day I’ve been waiting for: my return to kindergarten at my elementary school.
I’ve got my lunch packed up: veggie & cheese fritatta, an organic peach, and half [...]

Imagine a school where you could choose what you learn and how you learn it. Imagine having an equal vote, whether you’re age 5 or 17, on decisions like which teachers are hired, or what rules students and staff will follow. Imagine a school day where you could write a letter to the local newspaper, [...]

I’m spending the week in Jackson, Mississippi, visiting my boyfriend. Darren is a graphic designer and one of my sister’s best friends from Loyola University, New Orleans. If you’re wondering how we met, we hit it off in February at Mardi Gras. Nothing spells romance like applying eyeliner to a pirate in a pink bandana [...]

“All I really need to know, I learned in kindergarten” was just a cutesy commercial saying until I actually spent a day with kindergarteners. Now I understand.
I visited the kindergarten in order to generate ideas for the first phase of Reschool Yourself, to nail down specifics about what I’d like to do in my old [...]

About Reschool Yourself

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Reschool Yourself is a year-long exploration of how school shaped the person I became, and how I decide to educate myself from now on. This fall I'm returning to my old classrooms week by week, to understand how school influenced my identity and to regain the happiness and creativity of childhood. In the spring I'll pursue learning opportunities in the U.S. and abroad to become as autonomous as possible. I'll share my experiences of "reschooling" and personal development through this website and provide a forum for readers of all ages to exchange their own. This site is a place to tell our stories about education: our experiences past and present, and our vision for future generations.

— Melia Dicker

Flickr PhotoStream

    Kindergarten class photo, 1985-1986Scoping out class lists the first morning of schoolEverything in its place in the kindergarten roomHot lunch: Corndogs and chocolate milk

Graphic and Web Design by Darren Schwindaman
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