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PYP 068: Paul Scutt on Trusting Children and the Problem with Coercive Education

paul-scuttWhen you think of the school you went to, or the school your child goes to, do these words pop into mind?

  • fun
  • fascinating
  • exciting
  • nurturing
  • empowering
  • joyful
  • community
  • teamwork

For most people, not so much. Even those of us who “won” at school, who got good grades and participated in the resume-stuffing clubs and activities, mostly preferred the time we spent outside of the classroom, doing things and exploring ideas we found interesting.

For the other 95%, school is usually seen as a necessary evil. A place where people in authority can coerce your attention, restrict your movement (even to the point of telling you when you can and can't stand, sit, or go to the bathroom), evaluate you based on mysterious and arbitrary criteria, and force you to perform unpleasant activities under threat of present punishment and future ostracism.

Enter today's guest, Paul Scutt. Paul is a dear friend of mine from way back, and the gently fierce voice of contrarian wisdom when it comes to how children should learn. A co-founder of the Princeton Learning Cooperative, Paul believes that children can and should be trusted with their own education.

In today's conversation, wel look at the Alternatives to School movement. We cover:

  • the real goals of modern compulsory education
  • the problem with rewards and punishments
  • why learning content is often a waste of time, and what kids should be doing instead
  • why members of the Princeton Learning Cooperative are encouraged to try things and then quit
  • four important books by Seth Godin that inform the Alternatives to School Movement (The Dip, The Icarus Deception, Linchpin, and Stop Stealing Dreams)
  • how to tell if your child could benefit from leaving school and taking charge of their own education
  • examples of teenagers who quit school, got a real education, and are doing just fine in the real world
  • and more

Enjoy, comment, and please share.

Links

The Princeton Learning Cooperative

Alternatives to School – philosophy and resources for self-directed learners

Liberated Learners, Inc. – umbrella organization to spread the self-directed learning movement worldwide

A few of Seth Godin's books relevant to this conversation:

The Dip (about the fine art of quitting, and why it's crucial to life success)

The Icarus Deception (about not letting ourselves fly high enough)

Linchpin (about approaching everything we do as an artist)

Stop Stealing Dreams – a free ebook about the need to reform education

 

 

Dr Howie Jacobson

This podcast is a labor of love and a way to give back to the world that has given me so much. That's why there aren't any sponsors (except me :).

My day job is helping leaders and their teams master their mindsets to remove all obstacles to heart-centered high performance.

Here are three gigs that I do:

1. Executive and Senior Leadership Mentoring and Facilitation

I work with high performing executive teams in organizations — and executive teams that need to become high  performing. My focus is mindset mastery, because it’s our mindsets that either support high performance or get in the way.

At this level, everyone’s got the skills and experience to excel and contribute at the highest level. What holds people back is mindset stuff: specifically the triggers that get them out of creative engagement and into fight-or-flight defensiveness.

My practice is all about teaching people to respond differently to those triggers by updating old maps — essentially removing the glitches that the triggers grab onto.

2. Executive Coaching: Quick Wins for High Performance

I work with individual executives and leaders, one on one. The program is called Quick Wins for High Performance, and what we do is, we work strategically on one or two areas that are holding you back and keeping you from performing at your best.

We reverse engineer the presenting problems — too much work and not enough time, underperforming employees and teams, maddening organizational inefficiencies, etc — and identify and rewire the suboptimal mindsets that are behind those problems.

The work is all about updating your mental maps so your actions and responses are always appropriate, proportionate, and strategic.

3. High Stakes Conversations for Fast Growing Small Business Teams

I help small business teams have high stakes conversations with skill, humor, and grace. When people feel safe, they can do their best, most creative, most collaborative work.

So that's what I do. If you'd like any of those results, drop me a line and tell me about yourself.

You CAN Change Other People!

Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.

What we really mean is, you can bring out the best in the people around you. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.

Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.

 

Music

The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.

It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.

You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.

Gratitudes

Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.

Disclosure

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