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Unschooling: An Encouraging Option

Started by Mesozoic Mister Nigel, March 14, 2013, 07:04:09 PM

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Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Here's that paper I mentioned in the TED thread, that I wrote for my writing class. I thought it might be interesting to some of the people here because I think it aligns well with the humanistic philosophies most of the folks on the forum seem to share.


       In 1979 in Portland, Oregon, after a particularly grueling day in school, a mother turned to her eight-year-old daughter and asked, "How would you feel about not going to school anymore? What would you think about being homeschooled?"

       The little girl's heart leapt and she pretended to think about it, pausing for a long moment and looking as serious as she could before replying "I would miss my friends at school, but I think that I would like it".

       That conversation opened the door to a world of education that she could never have imagined; an education she rarely even realized that she was receiving. Because, despite her mother's well-intentioned decision to homeschool, the reality was that she was a bit flighty and lacked the capability to take on such an endeavor. Instead, she did whatever it is somewhat flighty people did in the seventies and eighties, and the little girl, equipped with a bus pass, a bicycle, and a library card, spent her days roaming the streets and fields, swamps and forests, and one of her favorite places, the library.

       She read books and played and amused herself, and if she ever had a curiosity that the library couldn't satisfy, she asked her mother, and her mother would help her find the things she needed; a microscope and slides for looking at amoebas in the pond, or a spindle and wool for learning to spin yarn. She was never, ever bored. As she got older, though, she began to worry; would she be able to go to college? Did she know as much as the other kids?

       That little girl was me, and what I learned as I came to the end of my time at home and was ready to go into the world as an adult was that not only did I know as  much as the kids who had attended schools, even excellent ones, I knew more. Fearful of math, I hadn't studied it since leaving school, but found to my surprise that I could learn all the math that is taught in the first eight years of public school in just one three-month community college class. Accidentally unschooled, I had, through simply being allowed to exercise the natural curiosity that is inherent in children, given myself a finer education than most of my peers received in school.

       Unschooling is the educational process of child-directed learning without a structured curriculum. Rather than acting as teachers for their children, as with homeschooling, parents instead act as advisors and facilitators for their children's interests, providing suggestions, discussion, materials, and transportation when needed, rather than a list of books and assignments to be completed in a given time-frame.

       Unschooling has many advantages over what we have come to think of as traditional methods of schooling, particularly for children over the age of twelve years old, the age at which young people are beginning to explore autonomy and self-direction in preparation for adulthood. It takes advantage of our natural inborn human curiosity and drive to learn, harnesses children's natural aversion to boredom by empowering them to entertain themselves through learning, building their sense of self-direction in the process, and sidesteps the traditional curriculum's tendency to often stifle interest in learning by pushing too many subjects at a time in a rigidly structured format, regardless of a student's interest or readiness.

       They say that curiosity killed the cat, but no animal is more curious than Homo Sapiens. Children are natural learners from birth; the drive to explore and explain our world manifests itself almost immediately. As Alison Gopnik, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, says, "Babies are like little scientists, continually getting data and overthrowing theories that no longer fit the new evidence" (42).  Not only that, but we are hardwired to find learning fun; according to Dr. Stuart Brown, director of the National Institute for Play, we are, as a species, primed to play from the time infants make their first social smiles and continuing throughout our adult lives, and play is a crucial element in learning and developing our intelligence.

       These are bold statements, and one of the concerns parents might have is whether children, left to their own devices, will simply while away the hours watching TV and playing video games. However, there seems to be ample evidence that, left to their own devices, children grow bored with these activities just as they do with any others, and will seek challenges and stimulation of their own accord. Karl F. Wheatley, an Associate Professor and the coordinator of early childhood teacher education at Cleveland State University, says "The child who is stressed from too many activities slows down his day; the child who is bored seeks more stimulation and challenge. Children learn to self-regulate because they are allowed to self-regulate, which is very different than just obeying" (31). According to Wheatley, one of the consequences of children having so much unstructured time in which to do as they choose is a better quality of boredom; when they are free to do with their time as they will, they learn to recognize that boredom is a result of their own choices, and that they must take responsibility for addressing it. This responsibility helps develop and strengthen their ability to self-regulate (30).

       Another concern often voiced by parents is the question of socialization. Don't children need to socialize with their peers? Indeed, they do, but that also raises the question of who exactly their peers are. In traditional school settings, they are in essence ghettoized by age, forced to associate and build rapport only with other students within a year or so of their own age. In the adult world, our peer groups are diverse and tend to be structured by field and experience, not by age. Unschooled children have access to socialize with a wide range of ages through community center activities and after-school programs, and in addition, through one of the most powerful tools of socialization teens have today, the internet. Meetup groups allow older children to find others who share their interests and are a wonderful way for them to interact with people of varying experience levels in a chosen interest, allowing them both the opportunity to learn and to teach, as well as the opportunity to become socially fluent in relating with people of different ages. Says Carlo Ricci, a teacher in the faculty of education's graduate program at Nipissing University and editor of the online Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, "To see people of all ages freely interacting with each other, rather than being segregated by age, is simply magical" (46).

       A common misconception is that only the extraordinary, the innately motivated, the boldly gifted will thrive in an unstructured child-led learning environment. However, many experts on learning believe that the opposite is true, and that institutionalized learning, with its boredom, its memorization and routine and repetition and adherence to regulation and conformity, extinguishes the extraordinary within ordinary children who are born with a driving curiosity and the inherent thirst to learn already within them. Says creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, PhD, principal author of The Arts in Schools: Principles, Practice and Provision, "My contention is that all kids  have tremendous talents, and we squander them, pretty ruthlessly".

       We are, after all, the most curious species. Todd B. Kashdan, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at George Mason University and author of Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life. In his blog Curious? on the Psychology Today website, Kashdan posits,

If you want to steal a child's love of a topic, make it mandatory for them to follow precise guidelines of what they have to know and what is irrelevant. Don't answer tangential questions which will steal time away from the omnipresent syllabus (no time for intrigue!). If you are the principal, make sure that teachers and students know that you are always observing them. Deprive children of choices and alternative perspectives, and you might lull them into compliance.

       Grace Llewellyn, former educator, unschooling advocate, and author of The Teenage Liberation Handbook, writes "Although compulsory schooling was begun partly in hopes of educating people worthy of democracy, other goals also embedded themselves in the educational system. One was the goal of creating obedient factory workers who did not waste time by talking to each other or daydreaming" (60).

       Llewellyn's position may seem extreme, and the reality is that unschooling may not be for everyone; there are, after all, children who thrive and seem very happy in the structured hierarchical world of middle school and high school. Those children might not make the decision to leave school for unschool, and it would be contrary to the core principles of unschooling to compel them to do so, as unschooling is fundamentally about allowing children to make choices and master the art of self-direction.

       However, for those who would leave if given the assurance that they will still have the same opportunities in life as their peers who finish traditional high school, unschooling opens up worlds upon worlds of possibility for developing the potential of passionate lifelong learners, future writers, artists, scientists, dancers; people with the capacity to realize the very best of Homo Sapiens' natural Pandora's Box of curiosity locked within every child.
   

Works Cited
Brown, Stuart. Play is More Than Fun. 2008. Video. Ted.com. Web. 11 Mar 2013.
<http://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s _vital.html>.

Gopnik, Alison. "What Every Baby Knows." New Scientist 178.2395 (2003): 42.
MasterFILE Premier. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.

Kashdan, Todd B. "3 Ideas to Prevent Schools from Killing Creativity, Curiosity, and
Critical Thinking". Curious?. Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC. 11 May 2011. Web. 11 March 2013. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ curious/201105/3-ideas-prevent-schools-killing-creativity-curiosity-and-critical-thinking>

Llewellyn, Grace. The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a
Real Life and Education. Eugene, Or: Lowry House, 1998. Print.

Ricci, Carlo. "Unschooling And The Willed Curriculum." Encounter 24.3 (2011): 45-
48. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.

Robinson, Ken. Schools Kill Creativity. 2006. Video. Ted.com. Web. 11 Mar 2013.
<http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
.html>

Wheatley, Karl F. "Unschooling: An Oasis For Development And Democracy."
Encounter 22.2 (2009): 27-32. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 07:04:09 PM
       Llewellyn's position may seem extreme, and the reality is that unschooling may not be for everyone; there are, after all, children who thrive and seem very happy in the structured hierarchical world of middle school and high school.

This lends credibility to the entire argument.  In every other case I have read, the argument is either that homeschooling is universally a disaster, or that homeschooling is a universal panacea that should be adopted by everyone.

I have been against homeschooling since it became a movement, but this article has given me a reason to reconsider the subject.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 07:08:18 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 07:04:09 PM
       Llewellyn's position may seem extreme, and the reality is that unschooling may not be for everyone; there are, after all, children who thrive and seem very happy in the structured hierarchical world of middle school and high school.

This lends credibility to the entire argument.  In every other case I have read, the argument is either that homeschooling is universally a disaster, or that homeschooling is a universal panacea that should be adopted by everyone.

I have been against homeschooling since it became a movement, but this article has given me a reason to reconsider the subject.

Thank you!

I am not fond of absolutes, myself. I tend to favor the "HOLD ON, YOU'RE BOTH WRONG" approach to life. :lol:
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Also, homeshooling is different from unschooling. Unschooling is more like Free Schooling, and is learner-directed, whereas homeschooling is still feeding children a curriculum and agenda, just one that's set by parents or by a church rather than by a school administration.

Many, many people who homeschool would not be at all OK with just facilitating learning in whatever areas their kids are interested in, especially the ones who homeschool in order to protect their children from the evil awful world.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


LMNO

It sounds like the Montassori (sp?) approach is a combination of the two.

However, the few anectdotal encounters I've had with those students left me with the impression that they're condescending pricks.  So.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

I am increasingly of the opinion that as long as they learn to read and have ample access to books and databases, children would not be in the slightest bit missing anything if they just do whatever until they turn 16 or so, and then go to college. You can learn all the academics in the K-12 curriculum in one year of college, and you'll probably remember more of it too.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on March 14, 2013, 07:18:15 PM
It sounds like the Montassori (sp?) approach is a combination of the two.

However, the few anectdotal encounters I've had with those students left me with the impression that they're condescending pricks.  So.

Also, very expensive. Out of reach for most families.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Cainad (dec.)

QuoteAnother concern often voiced by parents is the question of socialization. Don't children need to socialize with their peers? Indeed, they do, but that also raises the question of who exactly their peers are. In traditional school settings, they are in essence ghettoized by age, forced to associate and build rapport only with other students within a year or so of their own age. In the adult world, our peer groups are diverse and tend to be structured by field and experience, not by age. Unschooled children have access to socialize with a wide range of ages through community center activities and after-school programs, and in addition, through one of the most powerful tools of socialization teens have today, the internet. Meetup groups allow older children to find others who share their interests and are a wonderful way for them to interact with people of varying experience levels in a chosen interest, allowing them both the opportunity to learn and to teach, as well as the opportunity to become socially fluent in relating with people of different ages. Says Carlo Ricci, a teacher in the faculty of education's graduate program at Nipissing University and editor of the online Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, "To see people of all ages freely interacting with each other, rather than being segregated by age, is simply magical" (46).

Big fan of this paragraph. I think Ken Robinson's TED talk referred to segregation of classes by age as treating a child's "date of manufacture" as the most important criterion for what they should be doing/learning. :lol:

I know a lot of people's biggest problem with not going to some kind of traditional school is the concern that children need the experience of, to put it bluntly, dealing with a lot of assholes all in one place. Honestly, I'm not so sure surviving middle and high school asshattery is crucial to coping with asshattery in the adult world. At best, it's a common experience for people to talk about and commiserate over ("Which was your shittiest year of high school?").

I think I've always been a little unusual in how well I socialize with people older than me. Even while still in college, many if not most of my friendships at this point are with people 5 or more years older than myself.


QuoteA common misconception is that only the extraordinary, the innately motivated, the boldly gifted will thrive in an unstructured child-led learning environment. However, many experts on learning believe that the opposite is true, and that institutionalized learning, with its boredom, its memorization and routine and repetition and adherence to regulation and conformity, extinguishes the extraordinary within ordinary children who are born with a driving curiosity and the inherent thirst to learn already within them.

I can definitely see this misconception being a very persistent problem for promoting unschooling. The ability of a child to self-direct their learning is currently perceived as extraordinary, whereas it seems more likely that all children are capable of self-directed learning to some degree.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Thanks Cainad!

I really am just increasingly cynical about the value of compulsory schooling.

And, I wonder what our school system would look like if funding for K-12 was diverted 100% into college/university level education. Not that that wouldn't open up another can of worms, because parents wouldn't have free daytime babysitting anymore.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:30:45 PM
Thanks Cainad!

I really am just increasingly cynical about the value of compulsory schooling.

Beats nothing.

Seriously.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 09:32:30 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:30:45 PM
Thanks Cainad!

I really am just increasingly cynical about the value of compulsory schooling.

Beats nothing.

Seriously.

It beats nothing, when nothing is no resources and no library. It really beats nothing when nothing is also no food at home unless you work for it.

However, I am not sure it beats nothing when nothing includes the internet and a library card, a roof over your head and enough to eat that you aren't forced into the fields or factories at the age of 8.

Maybe we need schools to teach basic literacy, because not enough parents will do it on their own. Maybe we need schools to keep kids safe and occupied during the day while their parents work. But as far as compulsory schooling goes, from my perspective it's mostly a timekiller.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:53:02 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 09:32:30 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:30:45 PM
Thanks Cainad!

I really am just increasingly cynical about the value of compulsory schooling.

Beats nothing.

Seriously.

It beats nothing, when nothing is no resources and no library. It really beats nothing when nothing is also no food at home unless you work for it.

However, I am not sure it beats nothing when nothing includes the internet and a library card, a roof over your head and enough to eat that you aren't forced into the fields or factories at the age of 8.

Maybe we need schools to teach basic literacy, because not enough parents will do it on their own. Maybe we need schools to keep kids safe and occupied during the day while their parents work. But as far as compulsory schooling goes, from my perspective it's mostly a timekiller.

Once you know how to read & write, and do simple math, everything else can be gained on your own.

But parents won't do it on their own, largely because the parents that have that motivation also are out working 2+ shitty jobs to put food on the table. It's a trap, a spiral, and breaking that spiral is (currently) possible, but very, very difficult.  I realize, of course, that I'm preaching to the choir here, but for every Nigel busting her ass, there's ten people without the ability or the drive.

My biggest problem here is that the tendency in America is to blame the children for the sins of the parent, and any excuse at all will suffice for the assholes we have allowed to own the place to shut down what's left of the school system.  Consider:  The skill sets needed to be a productive peasant can be learned by grade 3.  As long as we have K-12, there's still hope for the system as it stands.

Kids may not learn an ounce of meaningful history, but they're still teaching math and the scientific method (which drives the population of Oro Valley batshit, so you know it's still working).

And, as I say, it beats nothing.

" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 10:17:42 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:53:02 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 09:32:30 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:30:45 PM
Thanks Cainad!

I really am just increasingly cynical about the value of compulsory schooling.

Beats nothing.

Seriously.

It beats nothing, when nothing is no resources and no library. It really beats nothing when nothing is also no food at home unless you work for it.

However, I am not sure it beats nothing when nothing includes the internet and a library card, a roof over your head and enough to eat that you aren't forced into the fields or factories at the age of 8.

Maybe we need schools to teach basic literacy, because not enough parents will do it on their own. Maybe we need schools to keep kids safe and occupied during the day while their parents work. But as far as compulsory schooling goes, from my perspective it's mostly a timekiller.

Once you know how to read & write, and do simple math, everything else can be gained on your own.

But parents won't do it on their own, largely because the parents that have that motivation also are out working 2+ shitty jobs to put food on the table. It's a trap, a spiral, and breaking that spiral is (currently) possible, but very, very difficult.  I realize, of course, that I'm preaching to the choir here, but for every Nigel busting her ass, there's ten people without the ability or the drive.

My biggest problem here is that the tendency in America is to blame the children for the sins of the parent, and any excuse at all will suffice for the assholes we have allowed to own the place to shut down what's left of the school system.  Consider:  The skill sets needed to be a productive peasant can be learned by grade 3.  As long as we have K-12, there's still hope for the system as it stands.

Kids may not learn an ounce of meaningful history, but they're still teaching math and the scientific method (which drives the population of Oro Valley batshit, so you know it's still working).

And, as I say, it beats nothing.

The skills to be a productive peasant, sure, but not a productive factory worker. That takes the public school system as it stands, as it was intended.

I am very torn on the value of schools for k-5. I think that they have huge potential for high value, but that potential isn't being anywhere close to realized. Something like the Free School child-led learning structure would be much better.

I am profoundly skeptical of structured-curriculum schools being of much value at all for kids 12-16. If anything, I think that a "school system" for kids those ages should be structured more like libraries with lab space, where the teachers are essentially consultant-facilitators and the kids come and go at will.

But I also recognize that such a structure is, in our current culture, the stuff of fantasy.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 11:11:05 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 10:17:42 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:53:02 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 14, 2013, 09:32:30 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on March 14, 2013, 09:30:45 PM
Thanks Cainad!

I really am just increasingly cynical about the value of compulsory schooling.

Beats nothing.

Seriously.

It beats nothing, when nothing is no resources and no library. It really beats nothing when nothing is also no food at home unless you work for it.

However, I am not sure it beats nothing when nothing includes the internet and a library card, a roof over your head and enough to eat that you aren't forced into the fields or factories at the age of 8.

Maybe we need schools to teach basic literacy, because not enough parents will do it on their own. Maybe we need schools to keep kids safe and occupied during the day while their parents work. But as far as compulsory schooling goes, from my perspective it's mostly a timekiller.

Once you know how to read & write, and do simple math, everything else can be gained on your own.

But parents won't do it on their own, largely because the parents that have that motivation also are out working 2+ shitty jobs to put food on the table. It's a trap, a spiral, and breaking that spiral is (currently) possible, but very, very difficult.  I realize, of course, that I'm preaching to the choir here, but for every Nigel busting her ass, there's ten people without the ability or the drive.

My biggest problem here is that the tendency in America is to blame the children for the sins of the parent, and any excuse at all will suffice for the assholes we have allowed to own the place to shut down what's left of the school system.  Consider:  The skill sets needed to be a productive peasant can be learned by grade 3.  As long as we have K-12, there's still hope for the system as it stands.

Kids may not learn an ounce of meaningful history, but they're still teaching math and the scientific method (which drives the population of Oro Valley batshit, so you know it's still working).

And, as I say, it beats nothing.

The skills to be a productive peasant, sure, but not a productive factory worker. That takes the public school system as it stands, as it was intended.

I am very torn on the value of schools for k-5. I think that they have huge potential for high value, but that potential isn't being anywhere close to realized. Something like the Free School child-led learning structure would be much better.

I am profoundly skeptical of structured-curriculum schools being of much value at all for kids 12-16. If anything, I think that a "school system" for kids those ages should be structured more like libraries with lab space, where the teachers are essentially consultant-facilitators and the kids come and go at will.

But I also recognize that such a structure is, in our current culture, the stuff of fantasy.

Well, yeah.  Can you imagine the outcry from everyone packing an agenda (left OR right)?
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Golden Applesauce

Not sure about my thoughts on "unschooling" yet - but I 100% agree that arbitrarily segregating children by age is completely stupid. I was lucky enough to go to an amazing "creative learning" summer camp every year from 3rd grade through high school, and one of the best things about that camp was that virtually all of the classes/activities were mixed age. A typical team for the "build a balsa wood bridge" / "put on a play" / whatever project would be an even mix of 1-2 elementary students, 2-3 middle school students, and a high school student or two. I think I gained more maturity hanging out with the older kids and leading the younger kids in those two weeks than the rest of the year put together.

The camp also had a really good mix of self-direction and structure. The day itself was fairly rigid in terms of schedule (meals, classes, sport/exercise, club, and whole-camp evening activities happened at the same time every day) but every camper got to pick which classes and which club they did, and exercise/sport was always a choice between swimming, ultimate frisbee, and talking a nice long walk. Provided meal times and time between events were generous enough that you never felt rushed, so it didn't feel nearly as structured as it is.

I keep using the past tense, but it's still goin. I highly recommend it to any of your children. I think registration for 2013 is still open. 2013 Course List.


Q: How regularly do you hire 8th graders?
A: We have hired a number of FORMER 8th graders.