Reschool Yourself

This week I’ve become consumed by a powerful obsession that has precluded all other activities. I haven’t been blogging much. I don’t want to sleep. I forget to eat — which hardly ever happens. I want to do nothing else but spend time with the object of my affection. I’ve fallen in love, as [...]

This will be a quick update, because my eyes are glazing over and I’m keeping my friends up by blogging so late. I’m currently in historic Concord, Massachusetts, visiting my college roommate and her new baby. I’ve enjoyed a bit of reschooling in the past few days by doing some culinary things I’ve never done [...]

With all the troubling news about the state of the economy, Darren and I talk a lot about learning survival skills. At the risk of sounding like crackpots, we want to be prepared in case something crazy goes down. Today he sent me 10 Skills to Have in the Post-Financial Apocalypse from The Consumerist. The [...]

Politics is part of my reschooling trifecta, along with personal finance and technology. These are areas where my lack of knowledge has limited me — in conversation, in attainment of my goals, and in self-confidence.
I’ve never identified myself as “political,” though I’ve chosen friends since college who took a particular interest in what was happening [...]

I’m feeling a bit queasy after reading the ABCNews.com story “Some D.C. Students to Be Paid for A’s” from 8/26/08. Here’s an excerpt:
Will middle school students hit the books, show up on time and be on their best behavior if they’re getting paid?
As Washington, D.C. students start back to school this week, that’s the thinking [...]

I think I just hit a goldmine. It will be a boon, at least, for those who want to make fun of my last name not just in English, but in German as well.
For me, this discovery is the most amusing reschooling in etymology, foreign language, and genealogy that I could ever want. Tonight I [...]

I’m back from the International Democratic Education Conference 2008, my head still spinning from seven days chock full of energizing workshops and conversations. Here are my relevant stats:

Average hours of sleep per night: 5
Mosquito bites: 6
Guest bloggers for Reschool Yourself: 7+
Servings of dessert: 20?
Blog posts composed in my brain: 25?
Workshops attended: 33?
“A-ha” moments: Beyond number

Here [...]

After 28 years on the planet, there is a lot I do know. I know how to make gourmet breakfasts in 5 minutes flat. I know when to use “who” versus “whom,” and how to offer constructive feedback to others. I also admit that my brain cells are being used to store all the lyrics [...]

I refer to the years from 2005 to 2008 as my “dead zone.” Prior to 2004, I had subscribed to the daily San Francisco Chronicle and the Sunday New York Times, watched a couple of films each week, kept up with the latest TV shows, and read celebrity gossip magazines as a guilty pleasure. In [...]

Throughout the coming year, I plan to share the variety of things I’m learning and doing. Here are the top items that I’ve been introduced to or have been thinking about this week. Here they are, in no particular order.
1) Online To-Do lists may finally rid me of my crumpled Post-It collection.
I’m notorious for scrawling [...]