By Megan Bean As a staff member of Alpine Valley Academy, I’ve been able to see many kids start at the school, and it’s always interesting to see how they respond to this new, strange environment. At a typical public Read more…
By Mark Cluff There are going to be discussions on improved civics classes and lessons during the Utah Legislative session now under way after all that has happened in our county over the last year. It is felt that students Read more…
Before working as a staff member at AVA, I worked for many years as a math and physics tutor. I tutored people of various ages and skill levels, ranging from grade school children to undergraduate college students. I always enjoyed it; helping people understand concepts that previously mystified them was engaging and rewarding. Unfortunately, my main takeaway from all those years of tutoring was that lots of people really dislike math. At best people find it dreadfully boring, and at worst the mere mention of the subject is enough to enrage or drive people to Read more…
…This is lunchtime. It can happen at 10:30, 12:00, 1:00, or even 2:49 in the afternoon. It can happen once a day or several times a day – part of the natural flow of a typical day here at Alpine Valley Academy. Lunchtime can come in and out like a sudden thunderstorm or be like a lingering day at the beach with vacationers coming and going, vendors hawking their wares, or flighty birds swooping in for an occasional crumb. Though not repeated with the clockwork of ocean tides, lunchtime has its own Read more…
After reading Dr. Peter Gray’s “Free to Learn” two years ago, writer and educator Jeffrey Howard became a convert to unschooling (or “Natural Learning”, as we like to call it). As a former mental health professional, he likes to explore how we Read more…
In this remarkable video, Sugata Mitra makes his bold TED Prize pitch (which he won). He summarizes his version of what we call “Natural Learning” like this: “We need to look at learning as the product of educational self-organization. If Read more…
We, the founders of Alpine Valley Academy, believe that to preserve freedom and self-government in America, we must preserve them in the hearts of our children. We’re doing this by creating freedom-based schools where self-government is a way of life, Read more…
Self-Directed Education Found a great article on “Self-directed education” (aka “Natural Learning” or “unschooling”)! The subtitle says it all, “Self-directed education is the most natural and joyful form of education”. <mic drop> If that’s the case, which we believe it Read more…
Sir Ken Robinson on Organic Education “We want our kids to have the best life they can live by discovering what’s inside them….” That’s how TED talk favorite, Sir Ken Robinson expresses his thoughts on what education should be. We Read more…