“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on. Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin
Requirements for I.School:
A genuine desire to learn.
Time.
An open mind.
Under construction. And here is what I pledge- no commercials. No time wasting propaganist ads popping up. Just thinking, learning and self discovering.
Motto: DO Less BE More.
The Purpose of Learning
Know Thyself! I.School is for anyone who truly wishes to learn for the sake of learning. The purpose of I.School clear: it is Individual Self Actualization by any means necessary. Class is in session- student of one.
Re-Conditioning
Unlearn what you have learned. Ok, now that is impossible, but re-conditioning is not. After doing nothing for a spell you can be somewhat of a blank slate, a tabula rasa of-sorts. See what has already been conditioned and realize perhaps that might not be the best path for you. We are stuck in all sorts of conditioned behaviors unacknowledged by our frontal lobe. You cannot un-learn the pledge of allegiance for example. It’s stuck in your head.
However, take the definition of liberty and justice- from the pledge- freedom and fairness and ask yourself “do I believe in those? If so, then think about how you can examine freedom and fairness in your own life and adjust in the smallest of ways. At school, when the pledge came on a controlled intercom, I got in the habit of praying/ being mindful/ composing inner dialogues as to how and why I would want to support liberty and justice for all, or not. The irony of involuntary coercive demands of the pledge intrigues me. It also encouraged me to ask why some schools require the pledge and some schools do not. Does it have something to do with fairness or lack of fairness varying from school to school? I’m a fan of those philosophies- freedom and liberty-, but what does that mean? How much freedom and fairness is in your daily grind?
Before you dig into I.School. No learning can really happen if you are sick and tired. Sleep, eat, and do as little as you can for as long as you can, then-
An examined life: Stop the world and think about it. I.School is an invitation to re-invent yourself starting with more thoughtful approaches to everyday routines.
Here are three topics and lessons I would teach: (Coming Soon-) and more topics, I would like to consider.
History
Imperialism: Colony, Sphere of Influence, Protectorate, and Economic Imperialism. And their direct relationships to public schools.
The Middle Ages- and how we are living the new one. Indentured Servants. No separation of church/corporation and state. And then there is the Plague.
The Industrial Revolution- Modern Times- Factories, tenement housing, institutionalization.
WWI (The New Hundred year war)- Causes of war- Militarism, Nationalism, A System of Alliances and A Spark. Mutiny.
Psychology
Milgram’s Shock Experiment- and how and how we are living it every day
Propaganda- Adbusters. Every pop-up, every add is a pocket-sized piece of propaganda propagating pupils. Chrome books?- magnify propaganda at a plugola rate.
Dreams! Let’s analyze some dreams please! Arch-I-Types.
Philosophy
Three Greek Geeks: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
Existentialism: Kierkegaard, Sartre, and (love) Nietzsche. XXXOOO the UberWench!
Eastern Philosophy: Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism
Math: Think B.E.D.
B: Basic budgeting; Empower yourself!
E: Economic Erosion, Get educated on Gross global inequities. Starting with Citizens United
Debt Damage: How BM’s use debt to conserve indentured servants.
Science
Yes Please! Every Day.
Make an observation.
Ask a question.
Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
Test the prediction.
Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.
Field Trip!
It’s a good ‘‘ole Treasure Hunt”. Hide and Seek- Newson Style! Give me the “V” sign. Send me pics if you want school to change. Peacefully,
I’ve left goodies all over town for you to find. Some are actual parting gifts. Stuff from my classroom I want to disperse to you, students. I’ve signed each piece and I hope you enjoy them. If you find it, it’s yours. My gift to you as you have givin me a lifetime of treasures! Some are just places I haunt. Take a risk. Get out and follow the Blog clues. Like Blue’s Clues, find the land of great and weird discoveries.
If you find a Newson trinket, take a pic and send it to me. I have also left “homework” assignments all around town. Warning: If you get an assignment, you must complete it. Pass it forward and prove it. Altso, Evermind the rule of three: The Law of Return. Karma. Be Nice. Be mostly silent. Be small. Do no harm. ANY injustice, and ALL naughty behavior will get students ex-spelled from I.School.
I have “confederates” all over! (confederates is a psychology term, not a civil war term, but now that I think about it…). I have accomplices, people working in secret to help assist you. Wait for the clues.
But Ms. Newson you have so many Blogs, how will you know which ones are clues?
I’ll put a V in the title. K? No.. a V. Ok. Happy hunting.
“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” “Love heard your name and had been running the streets to find you.” Rumi
English- Book Club; Language Club.
For English let’s start a book club. As another parting gift, I have left some of my favorite books “lying” around. Enjoy. Read it, don’t it, but pass it forward. Know another language? Start your own club and keep those beautiful languages alive! Send me pics from all over the world! Spread the amore!
Move!
Find something you Love. Stopped enjoying club sports? Find that kid in you again! Dance like no one is watching. Take a pic and show me how you found love in movement again. Can’t find that kid? Find an old pic. Write to her/ him/ they. (crossover curriculum, bonus!) Worried about spelling? Don’t. at I.School we care more about your soul than your speech patterns.
Homework:
Get creative. Show the world (or start with me) you want to reclaim your life. I.school is for all and none. Either You do it Or you don’t, there is no try. Start small and grow like a flower. Flourish!! No due dates. No dead-lines. No pressure. No hurry. Take your time. More or less? Need assignment ideas? Ask, I’ll give you a hand. Have an idea or assignment for me- let me know.
You! The Owners Manual
For your final beginning- Imagine you are going to create your own owners manual.
Weekly Schedule Blogs/ i.school:
Monday- Mellow Topics. A day for quiet reflection.
Tuesday- “Two-for Tuesday’s. “
Wednesday- Anything can happen Day.
Thursday- Pasta Thursday (I’ll explain as I go)
Friday- “Special thing” (I stole this idea from Mr. Newson).
Days are organized (for me) as such- Flexibility within structure:
General structure: ( I like to think 1 to 4 hour crumps of time). I am the experiment so this is how I design my day. This is not intended as instruction for all. I wake up quite early, but a basic structure can fit any personal rhythm.
Mornings- Reflection hour. Did you remember your dreams? If so, write it down. Anything you can recall- colors, images, people. If not, how do you feel? Physically? Emotionally? Simply check in, nothing to judge here, just curious. Next- make hot tea, watch a sunrise, write. (1-2 hours)
Next- Put on music- Plan. Depending on the day of the week, or weather, create a reasonable design for the day. Morning chores; break; Walk dogs; lake; after that I can get easily distracted so I focus on 3 simple tasks- prep dinner, make E’s coffee, check laundry. So, Plan, move, three tasks. (3-4 hours)
*breaks are strictly outside. Observations of nature, read a book or magazine, no technology. (5 min to an hour)
Afternoon project: I have many projects and struggle with completing so I work on that. Allow (2-3 hours) to create. Clean up- keep it tidy. (Painting, drawing, sewing, cooking, photography, writing, home decor…)
Outside lessons. Plant, sweep, anything outside for clean up, or pleasure. (one hour)
Shower, bathe, meditate, treat yourself. (one hour)
Spend time with family, friends. Dinner with hubby; Date night watching a show or movie.
Story, bed. Reflections on the day. What was happy? give yourself some credit. What was a struggle? Imagine that changing as you drift to sleep.