logan laplante – hacking school

[lake tahoe, ca]

kids are asked a lot – what do you want to be when you grow up..?

we’re going to answer with something we’re stoked on.. typically the opposite of what adults want to hear.

but when you ask little kids, sometimes you get the best, simplest answer..

when i grow up

a lot of kids today are just wishing to be happy.. safe.. not bullied.

..what if we based education on the study and practice of being happy and healthy

..much ed is based on making a living rather than making a life.. Roger Walsh – 8 tlcs..

i’m part of a small revolutionary group of kids, who are going about ed differently, it still freaks people out,.. i’m thankful we (his family/mom) didn’t cave to peer pressure….

excellent question..

out of 200 million people that watched Sir Ken’s talk – (on school killing creativity), i wonder why there aren’t more kids like me out there

[perhaps one reason – our ideas/assumptions/misconceptions of what unschooling is.]

hackers – people who challenge and change the systems to make them better

i call it hackschooling…

i don’t use anyone particular curriculum, and i’m not dedicated to any particular approach, i hack my education, i take advantage of opportunities in my community and through a network of my friends and family. .. i take advantage of opportunities to experience what i’m learning, and i’m not afraid to look for shortcuts or hacks to get a better, faster result.

it’s like a remix or a mashup of learning, it’s flexible/opportunistic and it never loses sight of making happy/healthy/creativity a priority..

here’s the cool part – it’s a mindset, not a system, can be used by anyone… even traditional schools..

so what does my school look like.. a lot of times.. starbucks..

it was a relief when my good friends mom (Carolyn Hamilton) started Squaw Valley (Kids’) Institute…

i’m starting to know what i want to do when i grow up, but if you ask me what i want to be when i grow up… i will always know.. that i want to be happy.

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one of many – more in depth – write ups of Logan’s talk, including this great insight via Carolyn:

“The easiest road is to do what everybody else is doing: to start with kindergarten, to let them get on the bus, and that’s it,” says Squaw Valley Kids Institute founder Carolyn Hamilton, whose family has been close to the LaPlantes since Logan was 8. “But these kids who throw their ideas out there into the real world with a book or a talk or an internship—they develop beautiful relationships with mentors.”

And that’s when you see how little difference there is, Hamilton says, between creating an innovative education and creating an innovative life.

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