WEEKLY DIGEST · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Greetings Eddies!
We recently heard from a parent of a middle schooler in OpenEd who was struggling to relate the concepts in his algebra workbook to the real world.
Most of us remember asking “when will I ever use this?” at some point when learning to solve for some hypothetical “x” variable in a textbook.
But this student was also interested in Minecraft - solving puzzles and engaging in complex visual-spatial reasoning in a virtual world of his own making. So the parent took the concepts from the student’s workbook and used AI to rewrite the worksheet, connecting the problems to the virtual worlds he was building in the game.
Now, I’m not saying that a computer game can replace math class (and of course you don’t need AI to customize your child’s curriculum), but I love this as an example of interest-led learning – which happens to be the subject of our latest podcast, featuring Tanner Bowman. In short: When kids care about the content of what they’re learning, the concepts click.
Tanner is the founder of Optio Education, which helps families build for-credit portfolios out of the activities a student is already interested in. Read on to hear more…
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Deep Dive: Do you know the difference between deschooling and unschooling?
Trends & Tools: What AI does to test scores, plus astronauts reading picture books from orbit and a short list of the best coding resources
Community Corner: Do audiobooks count as reading?
Also: if you observe the occasion, submit your back-to-school photos! We’d love to see how you’re kicking off your Fall learning journey.
Let’s dive in.
– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)
DEEP DIVE
Deschooling vs. Unschooling
The words deschooling and unschooling are sometimes used interchangeably, but if you’re new to open education it’s worth understanding the subtle distinctions. We’ve added them to our library of education pathways to help you understand how each might inform your plans for the year ahead.
Deschooling is a transitional phase in which a student who steps outside the traditional system begins to unlearn a certain mindset and habits installed in schools - for example, the belief that learning must be divided into neat 50-minute blocks, or that your value to society is determined by your grades, test scores, or highest level of schooling achieved. The term traces to Ivan Illich, who noticed that as compulsory schooling spread through the developing world, the people unable to complete it were newly labeled dropouts and failures - a judgment that had not existed before the requirement did.
Relatedly, unschooling is a method for organizing learning around a child’s real interests and natural development instead of a preset sequence or age-based cohort. Pioneered by a former educator, John Holt, unschooling has exploded in popularity as families are discovering that there’s no single right way to educate their children. They are free to mix and match curricula, in-person resources, and even educational philosophies based on the unique situation of the child and family.
THE OPENED PODCAST
This Week’s Podcast: Interest-Led Learning
Speaking of struggles with algebra, this week’s podcast features another story of a teen who wasn’t connecting with his academic math lessons, but was simultaneously doing his own mathematical analysis of the stock market. On his own time. For fun.
Optio founder Tanner Bowman taught computer science in a public high school for ten years (for families who have been with us for several years, yes, Tanner is the son of OpenEd founders Matt and Amy Bowman).
Tanner tells the story of a teen boy whose mother had him in an online math class. The mom described that year as the worst of her life - she had to fight him every day to sit down and do the algebra. In a public school, Tanner says, this kid would have been flunking out. But since he was enrolled in Optio’s accredited program, they were able to do something a school could not: award him official high school math credit for the stock market analysis he was already doing for fun.
Tanner’s calls this “structured autonomy.” You stop fighting over the assignment, connect the subject to something the kid already wants, and give real choices instead of the illusion of one.
In this episode:
Why a sixteen-year-old who refused to touch his algebra homework was already doing more math than his classmates
What happened when Tanner offered fifteen students total freedom to learn anything they wanted
The reason he stopped using letter grades, after ten years of asking teachers to defend them
Related episodes:
Stop Overscheduling Your Child’s Learning with Matt Bowman
Why Traditional Schools Create Dependent Learners with Tyler Thigpen
WANTED: Pilot Participants for Jamie Oliver’s “10 Skills” Food Education Program
Our friends at Getting Smart are bringing Jamie Oliver’s “10 Skills” to the United States this fall and asked if OpenEd families would like to be among the first to try it. It’s a free cooking program from the chef and food activist (unfamiliar? his episode of the Netflix show Legends is a good place to start): simple, hands-on lessons on using a knife safely, cooking from scratch, and understanding where food comes from and how it nourishes us.
Thousands of young people around the world have already used 10 Skills to build confidence and make healthier choices. Fill out the form if you’re interested, and they’ll be in touch.
The Latest in Open Education
TRENDS
Homeschooling was thought to be a pandemic blip, but many states are still hitting new records and the national trend continues. (Johns Hopkins)
The families leaving school aren’t all choosing the same next step. Forest schools, hybrids, project-based programs, and homegrown mixes are all on the same menu now. (Michael B. Horn)
A new study shows that students who used AI to do their homework finished faster and scored higher on it, but they scored worse on the exam. (Summary thread)
Speaking of AI... if it can write the standard essay, a finished document proves less than it used to. Julie Bogart argues for work that shows a student’s actual choices - a zine, a film, a debate, an argument for a real audience. (Brave Writer)
The New York Times front page asked whether letting kids play outside alone is a rite of passage or a crime. (Let Grow)
TOOLS
Story Time From Space features astronauts reading picture books from orbit, plus follow-up resources if the questions keep coming. (Story Time From Space)
Khan Academy just released free hands-on science activities and simulations for grades 5-12 - somewhere to start when a kid needs to make or test something, not watch another lesson about it. (Khan Academy)
The blank page is the hardest part of writing. Julie Bogart’s six freewriting strategies give a kid a way to start before they know where the piece is going. (Brave Writer)
And when handwriting slows a kid down, typing gives the thought another way out. Try free, game-based practice through KidzType and TypeDojo. (Different by Design Learning)
A concrete shortlist of the best coding resources for homeschoolers, from beginner to shipping real projects. (Teach Your Kids)
Can homeschoolers play college sports? NCAA eligibility, explained plainly. (Christy-Faith)
And for the deep-sea-curious kid: scroll from the surface to the ocean floor and see what lives at every depth. (The Deep Sea)
COMMUNITY CORNER
Do Audiobooks Count as Reading?
Out of 54 comments, the most common answer our community gave was “it depends on the skill.”
Some parents made the key distinction between comprehension and imagination, which audiobooks build well, and phonics and spelling, which they don’t touch at all.
Parents of dyslexic readers noted that audiobooks help a struggling reader keep up with a story’s difficulty level, while they get separate help with decoding.
If you want to understand the principles underneath that argument, our new guide on how to teach your kid to read breaks reading down into the two distinct skills of decoding and comprehension, and why you need both.
Where do you land? Add your take on Facebook
READER PHOTOS
Back-to-School Photos
Show us your first day. Whether school started at the kitchen table, in the backyard, or halfway up a trail, we want to see it. Send us your back-to-school photos (favorites may appear in an upcoming issue)!
KIT AND ED
Saved by the Bell?
One last thing: we believe families should be able to customize their own education - why not your inbox too? Set your email preferences to personalize which emails land in your inbox. Note: If you are enrolled in OpenEd, you will receive program-related emails regardless.
That’s all for this week!
– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)