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Alt Ed Austin Blog - Education & Personal Development
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Answering the “Should I?” and “Can I?” questions – Alt Ed Austin
Ken Hawthorn founded and runs “a school in a makerspace”: Austin School for the Driven . For this guest post I invited Ken to share his decision-making process when students propose projects that could be dangerous or controversial. In his candid response below, he invites readers to help him t
On being small – Alt Ed Austin
Laura Delgado, who founded and directs The Nest at The Montessori Tree , joins us on the blog today to share a bit of her vast wisdom about children, parents, education, and “smallness.” She also invites you to a lovely annual event for toddlers and their parents in South Austin this
What is critical thinking? – Alt Ed Austin
Guest contributor Stephanie Simoes is the founder of Critikid.com , a website dedicated to teaching critical thinking to kids and teens through interactive courses, worksheets, and lesson plans. “Critical thinking” is a trendy term these days, especially in the education world. Alternative s
The adult in the room – Alt Ed Austin
Dr. Erin Flynn, today’s guest contributor, founded and directs The Hedge School Cooperative , a small, inclusive high school in Dripping Springs. This piece is adapted from the school’s blog and addresses a simple topic that is often overlooked in discussions about education: the importance of
Finding balance in a self-paced process – Alt Ed Austin
Samantha Jansky and Janita Lavani are co-founders of Ascent: An Acton Academy in North-Central Austin. With many years of experience as Socratic guides and Acton curriculum developers, they have a lot to say about the balancing act required of both learners and adults in a flourishing self-pac
Tips for decreasing sensory overload in your highly sensitive child – Alt Ed Austin
We’re pleased to welcome Laura Sanders, MA, LPCA, as a guest contributor to the blog with two pieces this week aimed at helping parents and educators better understand and support highly sensitive children. Laura is a licensed counselor, EMDR trauma therapist, author, and mindfulness teacher special
Is your child highly sensitive? – Alt Ed Austin
Laura Sanders, MA, LPCA, is a licensed counselor, EMDR trauma therapist, author, and mindfulness teacher specializing in working with highly sensitive children and adults at her private practice, Cosmic Heart Counseling , in South Austin and online. We’re happy to welcome her as a guest contrib
The Festival of Learning is back! – Alt Ed Austin
After taking a few years off from organizing community education events, I couldn’t be prouder to let you know that the Festival of Learning is back—bigger and better than ever! On Saturday, February 24, more than 30 innovative schools and educational programs are taking over the beautiful sp
Choosing among roads less traveled – Alt Ed Austin
Shawna Pitts is a parent and current staff member at Clearview Sudbury School here in Austin, Texas. She joins us on the blog to share her thoughts on unschooling, Sudbury education, and a great podcast episode that discusses both of these and more. The podcast was produced by the Alpine Valle
When we dress up, do we become someone else? Or do we become more ourselves? – Alt Ed Austin
Marie Catrett, a frequent guest contributor here, has been looking back over ten years of documentation from her work with young children, compiling these stories into a book. She generously turned some of that material into this special photo essay about supporting young children in processing thei
Paper, please – Alt Ed Austin
Guest contributor Ken Hawthorn is back with a great art + geometry activity you can try with your family. Ken is the founder of Austin School for the Driven , a unique environment of experiential learning, the hacker mindset, and outdoor education, all curated by community. He is the autho
Searching for the “right” school – Alt Ed Austin
Alt Ed Austin welcomes Laura Delgado to the blog today to share with our readers some of her wisdom about choosing schools, preschools, and early childhood programs—and to invite you all to the 2nd Annual Small Schools of South Austin Tour ! Laura is a certified Montessori guide with more th
Media Monday: Read it. Watch it. Talk about it. 6 book-to-screen adaptations for the family coming this fall – Alt Ed Austin
I don’t know about you, but once we got beyond Barbenheimer, late summer felt a little lacking in large- or small-screen excitement. But for family viewing, some good news is on the way this fall, with a lot of acclaimed Tween and YA books making their way onto screens of all sizes. Here’s a roundup
Now this really looks like an alligator! – Alt Ed Austin
Marie Catrett is back with another glimpse into the world of children’s learning and growth at Tigerlily Preschool in South Austin. Marie is inspired by Reggio Emilia and informed by her deep curiosity and many years of experience working with young children. This guest contribution is adapted
The case for expectation-free, exploratory music learning – Alt Ed Austin
Grace Thompson is a voice and piano teacher based in Austin. She is a classically trained soprano who graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in music–ethnomusicology. A longtime advocate for the neurodiverse community, Grace joins us on the blog to discuss her nont
Looking for the roots of children’s mental health crisis: A conversation with psychotherapist Louis Weinstock – Alt Ed Austin
I recently had a chance to chat with U.K-based psychotherapist Louis Weinstock, who has written a new book about helping children deal with the anxiety, depression, fear, and stress that seem to plague our 21st-century lives. The book, How the World Is Making Our Children Mad and What to Do About
A chat about AI and the new learning landscape – Alt Ed Austin
You’ve probably seen funny, intriguing, or scary news items popping up over the past few weeks about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of ChatGPT , Claude , LLaMA , and other interfaces. You might have heard podcasters explaining or bemoaning the revolutionary new world that’s about to
Media Monday: Empowering kids to become master storytellers – Alt Ed Austin
On Wednesday, March 8, at the Austin Convention Center during SXSW EDU 2023, anyone without an official ticket to the conference can explore events in the Expo area—at no charge. If you decide to go, we recommend checking out some amazing Austin student journalists featured in a presentation about P
Why I instruct my students in the art of lock picking – Alt Ed Austin
Guest contributor Ken Hawthorn is the founder of Austin School for the Driven . Students at Driven smash educational silos and question the premise of the question in their learning journey. Hawthorn is the author of Super Arduino . Outside of Driven, he consults with both Austin Comm
Why should I take an art class? I don’t want to be an artist when I grow up! – Alt Ed Austin
Alison Pilon Nokes teaches art, among other subjects, at Huntington-Surrey High School in Austin. Her guest contribution here is adapted from her recent post on the school’s own blog . After about ten years in the visual art education world, I feel pretty strongly that everyone should
An honest look at the fall – Alt Ed Austin
Pam Nicholas is an extraordinary educator who serves as executive director of Huntington-Surrey High School . Below, she shares her candid thoughts and feelings about the challenges and uncertainties of the coming school year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently surging here in Centra
Hiding scary things from kids – Alt Ed Austin
Deborah Hale, founder and director of the Inside Outside School , kindly granted Alt Ed Austin permission to republish this timely and soul-searching piece. It originally appeared on her school blog earlier this month, soon after large protests against police brutality and racism began in
Educating our kids and ourselves in times of emergency – Alt Ed Austin
Learning is a social phenomenon, and human interaction is a catalyst. Especially in emergency situations, learning is a social and emotional experience, so human relationships have to be a priority. —Nishi Andra, technology for education consultant, ICARE co-founder, and currently working with U
#1 Tool for Pandemic Parenting – Alt Ed Austin
Today we’re excited to bring you some timely and practical parenting advice from a beloved figure in the Austin educational community, Sensei Jonathan Hewitt. As founder of Life Ki-do Martial Arts, Parenting & Life Education , Sensei Jonathan has worked with countless children, teens, a
“They’ll have to stop sometime”: Notes on taking turns at Tigerlily Preschool – Alt Ed Austin
Longtime readers of this blog will recognize the name and voice of Marie Catrett, founder and teacher at Tigerlily Preschool . Joining Marie in the dialogue below, adapted from the school’s blog, is her co-teacher, Lulu Bautista, who shares some scenes from a recent day on the playground. It’s
The pros and cons of beginning college virtually for students with learning challenges – Alt Ed Austin
Guest contributor Janet Price is the National Director of Admissions and Outreach at College Living Experience . She has 10 years previous experience as an educational advocate and has co-authored two books,  Take Control of Asperger’s Syndrome, winner of the 2010
Small Schools of South Austin Tour 2022 – Alt Ed Austin
Marie Catrett, a frequent contributor to this blog and an extraordinary early childhood educator, is back with a brief update on Tigerlily Preschool and an invitation to an exciting new event for anyone interested in exploring South Austin preschools. Hello, this is Marie Catrett, writing to yo
Alternative education post-pandemic: Where are we going from here? – Alt Ed Austin
We have an opportunity to create a new and better normal if we consider the needs of all learners in re-entry. . . . As natural and human-made systems collide in unprecedented ways, young people are growing up in a world where novelty, complexity, and mutuality are the norm. How we respond in adapti
Media Monday: Exploring neurodiversity in pop culture – Alt Ed Austin
We actually don’t understand the landscape that younger people have to navigate. And that’s why it’s so important not to tell kids how it’s going to be, but to listen to them as they try to find words to tell us how it is for them. And that’s sort of the struggle of autism. —Hannah Gadsby, The Ezr
So, you want to start a pandemic pod? There may be some pitfalls. – Alt Ed Austin
Meagan Welch is an AMI Montessori trained guide with a master’s degree in education who serves as the director of Julia’s Garden Montessori Family Learning Center . She has a passion for sharing the insights of Dr. Maria Montessori’s profound discoveries into human development with children and f
Social-emotional learning during the COVID crisis: Lessons from Austin’s alternative schools – Alt Ed Austin
We have made the emotional health of our students the top priority in decision-making. —Chris Ready, Assistant Head of School Academy of Thought and Industry Learning to manage emotion s and maintain empathetic, healthy relationships in ordinary times is as important for young people as other
Intentional tech use: Helping young people build immunity to persuasive technology – Alt Ed Austin
Alt Ed Austin is delighted to bring the work and voice of guest contributor Seth Bunev to our readers. Seth is a remarkable young writer, researcher, and educator whose new book, Screenfarers: Nurturing Deliberate Action in a Digital World , was released in paperback this month; both book and e
Creativity and play in distance learning: Alternative schools help Austin kids thrive during COVID-19 – Alt Ed Austin
Bet your bottom dollar we work best under pressure. (Yo teachers, I wanna like THANK YOU!) Get your yoga pants set. Gotta earn that paycheck! On your mark, get set, let me go, let me Zoom! —Emily Glankler and Akina Adderley Zoom! A "Shoop" Parody for Teachers , Griffin School &nbsp
Sudbury silver linings – Alt Ed Austin
Today we’re pleased to share an important update from Bruce Smith, a longtime staff member of Clearview Sudbury School , about the Clearview community’s democratic decision-making around reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time when so many are stressed and scrambling, when good opt
Learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and nonviolent protest – Alt Ed Austin
Teaching kids about the holiday we’re marking today seems especially important this year. How can we help our children understand and embrace the power of nonviolent protest in a time when they see adults engaged in so many violent acts? We’ve rounded up a range of approaches for parents and educat
Media Monday: 6 Weeks to Mother's Day, a film about alternative education and unconditional love in Thailand – Alt Ed Austin
Media Mondays are back. There is so much interesting and important creative work in film, books, podcasting, and other media related to alternative education these days, we’d like to highlight it for our Alt Ed Austin community. One project that is uplifting and inspiring us at the moment is a docum
MusicAlly: Bringing musicians and remote learners together – Alt Ed Austin
Here at Alt Ed Austin, we always—but especially in these difficult times—find joy in shining a spotlight on educators and artists who are using their time and talents to meet the evolving needs of learners in creative and generous ways. This guest post, from MusicAlly ’s Caeli Smith, is music t
3 things I’ve learned about distance learning as an online tutor – Alt Ed Austin
Jason Silverberg, M.Ed., joins us as a guest contributor to share his insights about remote learning. He has been a classroom teacher and popular tutor since 2004. Ever since the world turned upside down, many parents have been in a constant state of uncertainty as to what type of schooli
Talking with children about the coronavirus – Alt Ed Austin
Marie Catrett is a longtime early childhood teacher who has been contributing her shining light and insights to the Alt Ed Austin blog since 2012. She uses daily documentation to record children’s learning, support children’s interests, teach with intention, connect families to the journey,