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Caprice Lea
Soul Matters in Education focuses on the importance of the inner life of children in both parenting and education. Caprice had the honor of reading the pre-publication manuscript of her good friend, Ellen Hall, to discuss her new book, Soul Matters in Education.
Ellen is a master teacher and former Principal of Oak Grove School, a Krishnamurti school in Ojai, CA. Ellen started and ran an alternative high school, founded the California Teachers College, and was Executive Director at Meditation Mount. She also was on the City Council of Ojai and served as Mayor.
Ideas we discuss:
How kids thriveEvery child comes with a calling and purposeHow we see children affects their whole livesClassrooms are designed to keep the soul outTeachers tend to their own souls firstSchool focuses only on the intellectWhat children want more than anythingHow to stop bullying
Learn why the inner life of children is so important in education. We ignore the souls of children at our own peril.
Uncovering Innate Mental Health Dr. Bill Pettit has been a student of medicine, psychiatry, physiology and neuroscience for over 50 years. In this illuminating conversation, he points to the simplicity of how our human design works and shares the universal principles that are operating in the background of your life.
Bill leans into the wisdom of Albert Einstein, Carl Jung, and Sydney Banks as he shares a fresh understanding of mental health and peace of mind. In over 800 hours of training to become a psychiatrist, Bill never received one lecture on mental health, just mental illness.
This podcast episode will give you renewed hope and awaken your natural state of mental health and well being. Transcend the limits of the cultural beliefs of materialism and duality. Connect with Dr. Bill Pettit and Learn More about his Upcoming Course Bill and Linda Pettit's website
One Cause One Cure Programs:
Course #2 - Defining, Recognizing, and Awakening Mental Health and Well Being - a 12 week guided exploration.
Course #1 - Exploring the Mind, brain, body, behavior connection - a 16-hour self-study course. Books and Resources for Innate Mental Health Syd Banks lecture series
My Guide Inside - curriculum for children Prefer to Read? Transcript Coming Soon Episode Highlights 2:30 - Bill started his career in psychiatry looking for peace of mind and hoping to be less reactive to life's circumstances. For the first 41 years of his life, he believed that his reactions where caused by people and events.
5:00 - Bill grew up with a God that scared the poop out him. Learn how he has explored the beliefs he inherited and has evolved his view of God and Infinite intelligence. Everybody's "starter kit" is different and told it is the "truth".
7:50 - How the stress Bill created led him to feel like a failure. He left psychiatry because he didn't see people getting peace of mind and he saw the tremendous side effects of the medications.
12:10 - Bill shares that in the 800-1000 hours of lecture and instruction he had to become a board-certified psychiatrist there was no mention of mental health.
14:00 - In 1983, Bill met Sydney Banks and saw that he knew more about mental health than anyone he had met. Syd Banks spoke to him at a place where truth resides within all of us.
15:20 - Bill had been struggling with depression for 21 years and saw 6 psychiatrists that helped him from being hospitalized but never guided him to peace of mind. He used to think that his mental health struggles were hereditary until he discovered he was never broken and not lacking anything.
16:40 - Bill shares that he was spending a great deal of his day in negative thinking and being constantly driven to prove himself worthy. As little as 3 minutes of negative thinking creates a chemical imbalance in the brain.
17:50 - There is a wisdom beyond the intellect that guides us in every moment.
19:00 - Syd Banks saw that God is not a judgmental entity, it is Intelligent Energy.
19:50 - Listen for an amazing quote by Albert Einstein that shows he was a deeply religious man. He starts, "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious..."
25:50 - Carl Jung said, "Man will NEVER relieve his suffering by his own thinking but only by revelations of a wisdom beyond his intellect." If he would have seen the principles behind this, he wouldn't have recommended 1,000 hours of Jungian analysis.
27:53 - If you aren't any closer to the solution after 2-3 minutes of analysis, you won't be any closer in 20-30 years.
31:00 - We live in this illusion of duality. When we forget that we are spiritual energy in human form, we get scared and try to control life.
38:40 - How free will leads us to either listen to our spiritual guidance or believe our thinking. Nobody wants to die righteously miserable. Everyone wants to live in peace. Many people have given up hope that this is possible. Once hope is given, resistance melts away.
Show Overview Kelly Davis shares her journey of going from Pennsylvania to Taiwan where she is the co-founder and Director of Education for Galileo which offers innovative, self-directed homeschool programs geared to modern, active families. Galileo helps students build productive learning habits, become aware global citizens, and become job creators not desperate job fillers. Learn why Kelly is thrilled to have the opportunity to build a global school, where kids can learn and develop the best values from all cultures around the world. Connect with Kelly, Galileo, and the 2020 Homeschooling Global Summit Learn more about the homeschool programs offered by Galileo here.
Free 2020 Homeschooling Global Summit with 100 amazing sessions. Prefer to Read? Transcript coming soon. Show Highlights 1:10 Learn how Kelly went from studying abroad to launching the Global Homeschooling Summit and then the innovative homeschool programs for ages 8-18 in the Galileo online school.
6:30 - Galileo is definitely not a school. It's a space where students can be accountable in what they are doing. It's where modern, active families and entrepreneurs can help their kids find their passions. Learn how students at Galileo connect with each other, set personal learning goals, and invest their day in self-directed learning, group projects, and clubs.
8:05 The three pillars of Galileo are global citizenship, entrepreneurship, and STEAM skills.
12:08 How Galileo makes creating the curriculum and unleashes students' intrinsic motivation and intramotivation between students.
18:00 Galileo uses technology to improve lives not limit them. It teaches students boundaries with technology and encourages them to get outside and play. Time online is to connect and converse.
25:20 The only Galileo class is English Literacy for emerging readers which uses Book Nook. Everything else is learned in clubs, nano degree programs, and self-directed learning.
29:00 There will be 4 entrepreneurship nano degree programs throughout the year and two levels of entrepreneurship clubs.
30:39 How Galileo is designed for job creators, not job fillers by helping them create value for themselves and doing work that fulfills them as a person.
31:50 The importance of human connection time that is built into Galileo.
37:00 Check out the Global Homeschooling Summit, it will help you decide if self directed learning is for your family. Galileo is not here to convince you.
42:13 Galileo takes over the management of self directed learning for parents and invites them to contribute from their interests and passions.
45:33 The Design Thinking nano degree is a great launch into entrepreneurship.
48:40 Galileo is hoping to have family retreats in Portugal, Mexico, and Bali if all goes well.
49:40 Educators who care about the whole student, not just the subject that needs to be accomplished in a classroom wall, and have online teaching experience are welcome to inquire with Galileo. Want more Innovative Homeschool Programs? Check out my latest book, Instead of Schooling: Educating for Creativity, Resilience, & Happiness and the extensive list of homeschool programs, self-directed learning schools, and resources
Show Overview What does real school choice look like? Creating a school within a school for free learners. Heather MacTaggart has been working to change the education system in Canada for 23 years. She has attracted a team of educators with a combined experience of 229 years in education to expand the Unschooling School movement around the world.
Join the Unschooling School movement as a parent, learner, or educator.
The invitation is for learners to become Free Learners by creating an individual education plan (IEP) that declares they are a free learner. Free Learners utilize the resources and facilities of their local public school as it fits with their IEP and opt out of classes that they are not interested in.
Unschooling School invites educators to become Responsible Subversives by supporting Free Learners. Wha Connect with Heather and Join the Unschooling School Movement Unschooling School website for creating real school choice within your community.
For families in the United States, connect with Carl Rust. Prefer to Read? Download the transcript now. Books and Resources We Mentioned Get Out of The Way and Let Kids Learn: How We Can Transform Schools and Reintroduce Natural Learning by Carl Rust
The Real Lord of the Flies in The Guardian
School Transformation by Wayne Jennings
Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson
Rise Academy Episode Highlights 1:10 - Unschooling School is a movement and community hub to put the power back where it belongs - in the hands of the learners and their families. Why don't we use the resources found in schools to serve kids? We are in charge and we are going to insist that the public resources be used for the good of kids.
2:40 - We have bought a lot of beliefs that are just nonsense.
3:10 - Schooling as a process of colonization of people and the mind. All of the structures are self-reinforcing and have been used by dominating cultures to colonize groups of people - dividing kids by age groups, you have to do the same thing at the same time, and there is a set of information that you need to know to thrive.
5:10 - How Heather has tried everything to change the education system.
6:15 - We need to educated kids, and include indigenous people, in a way that doesn't kill their creativity and ingenuity.
7:00 - Most people don't know anything about self-directed education and the alternatives that are available. Trying to change the system using a network of independent schools is too slow, it will take over 100 years.
8:38 - Unschooling School tells kids and parents, "This is your system. You pay for it." Educate yourself about self-directed education to learn that there is a better way. By becoming a Free Learner, you can educate yourself within the system. Heather invites all kids to create a Free Learner Plan (an I.E.P. for free learners).
10:50 - With freedom comes tremendous responsibility.
11:42 - Unschooling School provides resources and direct access to Heather and her team to walk you through the process of creating a Free Learning school within a school.
14:20 - Do you really need a high school diploma? Unschooling School offers a free learner diploma that is more rigorous than a standard high school diploma. It requires a young person to know what is next and what they need. Heather shares there are eleven different ways to get into college without a high school diploma.
16:50 - Everyone blames everyone else in the school system. High schools blames universities. Universities blame high schools.
17:10 - Education for the 6 Cs: creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, compassion, community.
19:20 - We are biologically born to educate ourselves and driven to succeed in the society we're born into. We just need the environment and tools to do this. We need schools to start serving kids.
20:20 - For kids entering elementary schools now, 62% will be doing jobs that don't exist. So how can we use curriculum?
Show Overview
Michael Maser interviews Caprice Thorsen about her new book: Instead of Schooling: Educating for Creativity, Resilience, & Happiness.
Caprice shares her journey of 17 years of self-directed education and home educating her two daughters, Sage and Kayli. She wrote this book to empower parents to educate their children so that they discover who they are, what their gifts and talents are, and how to live a joyful life. Michael and Caprice talk about the dark history of schooling,
Prefer to Read?
Get the transcript of the full show.
Connect with Michael Maser and Books We Mentioned
Find Michael Maser and his book Learn Your Way on his website: Dreaming Dragon Consulting. The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto: another classic that will change how you view school forever. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil The Deepest Acceptance by Jeff Foster
Show Highlights
3:30: Michael share a brief review of Caprice's book Instead of Schooling. 5:00: Caprice tells her story of why she wrote this book and who she hopes to help. Most parents think that the only option for education is school - whether that's public school or private school, and they don't have the distinction between schooling and learning. 7:10: As Caprice watcher her daughters grow, she observed their innate wisdom. That they already had everything inside of them to be the perfect version of themselves. And it wasn't about filling them with information. It was about being a guide and giving them the space and the guidance. You know it's not just leaving them to their own devices because it's a big world and they don't know what options are available. 9:30: Michael shares one of his favorite quotes from the book where Caprice says, "Your child has everything inside to grow into an amazing adult like the acorn will grow into an oak tree. Your child has the wisdom, resources, intelligence, and gifts to follow their soul's calling out.” 9:50: Caprice tells about her "successful" executive coaching clients who felt empty inside and she didn't want this to happen to her kids. 13:30: We are born to create and happiness is our natural state. 14:45: We've got a lot of really, really well schooled people running the show. And, in my opinion, they're not doing the greatest job. We need some fresh insights. We need people to approach these problems from a new perspective. 22:00: Caprice was really careful not to make teachers the bad guys. Because they're not, they're stuck in the system as well. But if you're a teacher, and you have to march kids through this boring, irrelevant curriculum, you have to resort to coercion. 24:00: Parents think that, by pressuring their kids to compete and to win this game of schooling that they're doing something good for their kids. And I really wanted to wake them up to know that's very damaging to kids. 30:45: Another of Michael's favorite quotes from the book: “I believe that the goal of education is empowered, awakened individuals who use their minds, creativity and energy to co-create a free and fair society and healthy biosphere.” 34:45: The book will change how you view human nature and how we are designed to learn. And so once you understand how humans really learn, you will see how absurd schooling is. 40:20: There is no falling behind because learning is not a competition. It's been set up to be a competition which leads to the hyper-competitive society that we live in now. But if you can say - look - learning is not competition and your kid has everything that they need to be a successful person in life. And it's not your job to teach them anything. You just need to guide them. 44:00: There are no basics to master. 47:30: We have been trained to believe that there is this external world out there that we have no control over. But we try to control it.
Why do we train humans to be who they are not? Listen to Caprice and Tomis talk about self-directed education and the benefits to children and society. Tomis sees self-directed education, building trust-based relationships, and learning to live with all sorts of people are necessary to thrive. He describes schooling as an 18-year hazing process that leads to the society we have today. We talk about how trust is the missing element in society and if you weren't trusted as a child, it is difficult to trust your own kids. Learn about the Agile Learning Network, ALC Mosaic in Charlotte, NC, and Tomis' new venture Junto. Links to Resources Mentioned ALC Mosaic in Charlotte, NC Agile Learning Center Network Junto - a new breed of social media founded to rebalance our relationship with technology. Prefer to Read? Download the Transcript of this episode. Episode Highlights
4:00: Is the world more disingenuous today than it was a decade ago? Where are we headed? Does building a community affect society overall?
8:20: Agile learning centers are places where kids can be themselves.
11:35: Children have the innate ability to know what their needs are and get them met. It should be imperative that people have the opportunity for that level of sovereignty. How do we create a world we want rather than just be beholden to the one that exists?
14:31: One reason that it's hard for people to embrace personal sovereignty we need to ask "Why do we need to train humans out of who they really are?" "What is this world and who does it work for?" "Why do we need people to be standardized and have people's understanding of who they are be taken away from them?"
16:15: When you realize how so many things are set up backwards and see the intentional suppression and oppression that exist in the world. Schooling is the indoctrination station for accepting all of that about ourselves and society.
17:15: Having an entire education system that is based on on-consensual activity is the root of the systems that many people want to change but most people cannot see it.
20:12: Humans are born complete and whole. So much of our lives is about struggling to survive in this world where you have to hustle to just make it work. The whole capitalist economy is based around growth and productivity. The irony is that if children were trusted, they would be more productive.
30:10: Many progressive schools are still all about control.
37:29: The meaning of life is to make your own meaning and if you don't have agency, sovereignty, and time - you cannot do this. It's a tragic story we are all playing out.
38:38: If you weren't trusted as a child, you don't know how to trust your own child. If you were raised with people telling you that you don't know what is best for you, that is often how you will parent.
39:20: There has to be a tipping point where enough people are undoing that story to write a new story.
42:30: The way that we raise and educate children sets the stage for all of the unsustainable things we do on this planet.
47:31: Schooling is about control and with kids being prohibited from wearing pajamas for zoom meetings and being virtually suspended, then you see the control and domination of the existing paradigm fighting back.
51:00: The opportunity that ALC Mosaic offers to children ages 2-16 to experience self-directed learning.
53:07: The Agile Learning Center network offers a self-organizing community of support and tools to help start an ALC.
56:09: Schooling enforces and protects the brokenness of the human condition. Life is an ongoing process of deschooling.
57:00: There are two categories of experience: liberation or oppression.
59:00: Tomis is involved in a new social media platform, Junto, that is offering a human-centered design.
The relentless pursuit of freedom In this episode, I speak with Isaac Morehouse, founder of Crash and Praxis, about his relentless pursuit of freedom. Isaac shares how Crash.Co and Praxis guide young people to make themselves the credential and by learning out loud, create value and prove it.
We talk about how the false belief that a college credential will get you a job leads young people down a high risk path that might not get them where they want to go. Praxis is one of the lowest risk paths to success, with the main risk being the social risk of people viewing you as not "normal".
Praxis helps young adults adopt a value creation mindset, build tangible skills, get support from a community of creators, and land their first job with a start-up company. Learn why the Praxis program is free to those who are admitted and what it takes to get into Praxis. Discover why now is the moment to burn your resume and use a more effective approach with Crash. Connect with Isaac & Resources Connect with Isaac Morehouse and find out more about Praxis and Crash.
Book that Isaac mentioned: Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse. Transcript Prefer to read? Download the PDF transcript here. Highlights 1:22 - Freedom is a lived experience. You need a bit of taste of it to be motivated to make a change. From Ludwig Von Mises, three pre-conditions to human action: dissatisfaction for status quo, vision for something better, and belief you can get there.
3:30 - If you start with something that makes your life better and makes your more free, you'll want more of it without having to be intellectually convinced of something.
5:51 - The price you pay socially for taking your own path and not being "normal". Praxis is radically practical - not normal, and immensely practical.
7:51 - Live life on your own terms, so that when you struggle it's your choice.
8:50 - How to reduce the barriers to freedom.
10:14 - CEOs of startups say their biggest constraint to growth is finding good people.
11:15 - Isaac's experience of college was so strange. Why do people go to college? What is the connection between college and career success? Purchasing a signal for the job market. "I'm no average, not going to be any worse than anyone else here."
14:00 - What companies are really looking for when they hire someone for an entry level position (it's not a degree, GPA, or extra-curriculars).
15:50 - Why Praxis is designed the way it is. A net cost of $0 that increases the signal and teaches real skills. How it grew from 5 students to 120 each year.
18:20 - Why start-ups are the ideal place to have your first job.
21:20 - The quicker you learn what you don't like, the faster you will find what you love and where you can create value. The sooner you get real world experience the better.
22:30 - Follow your passion is not the best way to figure out your career. The subtractive method that Isaac recommends.
27:00 - How Praxis is the opposite of the schooled experience. Once the switch flips, people are on fire and start crushing it. It changes them forever. What's on offer is never having to worry about getting a job ever again.
28:20 - If you are someone who knows how to create value, learn on your own, and chase down your curiosity, that's the first step. The next step is to prove that you can add value.
30:10 - Why it's so important to learn out loud and work out loud. Praxis is all about helping you build your human capital and you're ability to create value.
33:00 - Crash helps poeple burn their resume and create tailored pitches to a short list of companies.
36:00 - How Praxis screens its applicants and admits 15% of them.
41:00 - One of the best elements and secret weapon of Praxis is the community of creators that help each other.
49:10 - As mastery increases, tolerance and appetite for risk and competition increases and actually improves performance.
55:15 - Isaac values education so much he thinks it is too importan...
In this episode, I speak with Mariaemma Willis about how to do stress free homeschooling and learning both in school and at home by focusing on a student's strengths and honoring learning differences.
Take the Self Portrait© Power Traits Assessment
For $5 off each assessment, click here for parent assessment, and here for the student assessment.
More about Mariaemma Wills:
Mariaemma Willis is co-author of the book Discover Your Child’s Learning Style and the Self-Portrait™ online strengths assessment. She has a Master’s degree in Education, and California Life Teaching Credentials for Regular and Special Education. For more than twenty-five years she has been teaching, conducting workshops and seminars, and consulting with parents and teachers. She is co-founder of the LearningSuccess™ Institute where parents and teachers learn how to focus on strengths and to coach every child for Learning and Life Success!
Conversation Highlights
1:10 Mariaemma explains how she she realized when she was 10 years old that she wasn't the smartest kid in the class but getting better grades than many kids who didn't learn the way school is designed.
3:34: How she realized that most kids don't have learning disabilities, they just learn differently.
4:55: Traditional education programs focus on what is wrong with you and what you can't do, then try to "fix" you. There is nothing wrong with you. What are your strengths? What can you do? That is all that matters.
6:20: We take our strengths and gifts for granted.
8:26: Only 1-2% of people learn the way school is designed to teach. The majority of people are hand-on and picture learners.
13:38: Adult learning is viewed differently than teaching children and this is a big mistake.
20:20: How understanding learning dispositions changes everything.
27:47: In one school, every student scored highest in curious and imaginative and every teacher scored highest in organized and supportive. This shows a common mismatch between students and teachers.
34:34: If school was reversed and it taught how most students learn, the ones succeeding now would struggle.
35:47: It is tragic that so many innovative, entrepreneurial students come out of school feeling stupid.
40:54: If you don't squelch children's strengths, they will shine through. We intuitively recognize these inborn gifts - they show up at an early age, but go by the wayside in school.
46:00: It's okay to reproduce school at home if that is the way that your child learns, and most kids don't learn that way.
47:05: Learning safety (mental safety) is the most important element in creating a learning environment. The more enjoyable an activity is, the more you learn. Humans learn best when they feel safe.
48:20: It doesn't make sense that we take point off for making mistakes. Mistakes are how your learn, they should be encouraged. The best learning happens when there is permission to try things out and make mistakes.
49:40: The value of playing games, especially for learners with a spontaneous disposition.
51:43: Another fantastic tip on how to make learning fun and meaningful. Let the kids design quizzes.
Where to find Mariaemma Willis
Connect with Mariaemma at School At Home Made Easier.
Books:
Discover Your Child’s Learning Style – paperback or Kindle
eBook: What to Do When They Don’t Get It: Simple Techniques That Work Like Magic
eBook: Learning Doesn’t Have to Hurt: The Magic of Relationship in Teaching & Learning
Self-Portrait™ Power Traits Assessment: For $5 off each assessment, click here for parent assessment, and here for the student assessment.
Resources Mentioned
The Game Curriculum - games organized by subject and grade level.
Caprice and Sage, her 17 year old daughter, have a powerful conversation about what it was like for Sage to learn outside of school her whole life.
Sage and Caprice Thorsen
Caprice was invited to consult to a group of parents who are considering homeschooling next year. Hearing this, Sage offered to share her personal experience of homeschooling. Thank you Sage!
Sage tells us that the worst part of homeschooling is the negative (and incorrect) stereotypes most people have about homeschoolers. Sage is rarely home and has lots of opportunities to be in the world and socialize.
Sage was able to learn her way, have a flexible schedule to pursue her passion for dance, and found herself ahead of most of her peers academically by her junior year.
Dyslexia gives Sage strengths that wouldn't be recognized in conventional school. Sage and Caprice share her success at the college level, getting a perfect 100 in ENG 101 and ENG 102 as a dual enrollment student.
We talk about learning looks at different age levels and how to craft learning experiences that work for your kids.
Wanting more support? Check out Caprice's new book: Instead of Schooling: Educating for Creativity, Resilience & Happiness.
Show Overview
In this episode, I speak with Sora Schools co-founder Indra Sofian about a fresh approach to homeschool high school based on extensive research on how teens really learn.
Indra tells us how he and his two co-founders met at a venture capital firm while at Georgia Tech and started sharing how much each disliked their high school experiences. They started brainstorming a new way to do high school. The idea took root and they invested 1.5 years doing research on alternative schools, what parents and teens are looking for, and what science has discovered about human nature and learning. Sora Schools was born.
Sora Schools designs learning around the interests of each teen and helps them to create real-world projects. Sora connects teens with mentors in their fields of interest. This virtual high school provides lots of opportunities for teens to connect with each other around learning and just to hang out.
Connect with Sora Schools to homeschool high school
Learn more about Sora Schools here: https://soraschools.com/
Episode Highlights
1:09: How Indra Sofian, Garrett Smiley, Wesley Samples decided to redesign high school and started Sora Schools so that teens anywhere can homeschool high school.
7:38: It was surprising and not surprising that schools don’t include scientific research on how humans learn
13:39: How Sora Schools connects teens with industry mentors
17:20: Why the founders decided to make Sora Schools a virtual school
23:10: The outcomes of self-directed learning from the Sudbury school longitudinal study
27:33: The secret sauce: how Sora Schools balances structure, expectation, and autonomy
36:19: Teenagers are underestimated. They are much more capable and self aware than we think.
41:40 How Sora Schools is supporting families and teens in this uncertain time
Want more resources to homeschool high school?
Check out my latest book, Instead of Schooling: Educating for Creativity, Resilience, & Happiness and the extensive resource list to help you homeschool high school.
Ever wonder why kids hate school? Kayli shares her experience of trying public school for the first time for 7th grade after self-directing her own education. Some of the insider views that Kayli shares:
Most school work is boring and seems pointless.
Schools still focus on memorization and cramming information into kids.
Bullying is mainly ignored by the adults.
Sexual harrassment is rampant in middle schools but they aren't doing anything about it.
The teachers don't seem to care about the kids. They just want the best test scores.