🐴 Protecting the "Internal Spark"

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🎧 THIS WEEK'S PODCAST HIGHLIGHT

KIDS ARE MORE THAN FUTURE WORKERS

In this week's podcast episode, a Kansas mom shares how she's building an educational community that integrates learning and life rather than treating them as separate domains.

Listen to our full conversation with Cassie →

💡 DEEP DIVE

THE COURAGE TO PROTECT THE "INTERNAL SPARK"

Few people realize that Ansel Adams—whose breathtaking photographs of American landscapes have inspired generations—was the product of the most open of educations.

At age 12, Adams was struggling in traditional classrooms. In his autobiography, he describes feeling trapped: "Each day was a severe test for me, sitting in a dreadful classroom while the sun and fog played outside."

Recognizing his son's misery, Adams' father made a bold decision: he removed young Ansel from school entirely. Instead of formal lessons, he gave him a year's pass to the 1915 World's Fair and told him "that would be his school." The family also took a trip to Yosemite Valley, where his parents gave him his first camera—a decision that would shape not just Ansel's life but American art history.

This approach to preserving a child's natural curiosity resonates powerfully with what we heard this week from Cassie Tinsmon, founder of Lily Lake Homeschool Collective in Kansas. In our latest podcast episode, Cassie explains her philosophy of protecting that same internal spark: "We really don't do learning and life as two separate things. It's just all together."

When Cassie watched her daughter's natural motivation flourish in the company of peers, she discovered something fundamental about human learning.

"I watched how her curiosity changed when other kids were around. She engaged a lot more." This observation led her to create a space where learning happens through exploration and community rather than rigid structures.

"I'm really trying to preserve that internal motivation to learn that kids are born with," she told us. "We all see it when our kids are infants and toddlers—on average, they learn to talk, learn to walk, start automatically hearing sounds and identifying letters without us sitting them down in a class."

This philosophy pairs intriguingly with a clip we shared this week featuring Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free-Range Kids movement. In the clip, Skenazy highlights a central paradox of modern parenting: in trying to protect kids from every possible harm, we often create the very anxiety we hope to prevent.

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"We have a society dedicated to making sure children won't have to deal with anything scary," Skenazy explains. "What they're not getting is the opportunity to face little problems along the way and realize 'oh that wasn't so bad.'"

Skenazy became nationally famous for letting her 9-year-old ride the New York subway alone, causing a media firestorm. Yet a century earlier, Adams' father shipped his 12-year-old off to explore the 1915 World's Fair unsupervised—and instead of manufacturing outrage, it produced one of America's most celebrated artists.

As we explored in our Kindergarten Without Walls article this week, this concept of preserving the 'internal spark' applies especially to young children. The article highlights how conventional kindergarten has become 'an academic arms race' with 'coding classes for five-year-olds' and 'Mandarin immersion programs with entrance exams,' despite developmental research showing many children aren't ready for formal academics until ages 8-10.

How many potential Ansel Adamses are we missing out on because they've lost the curiosity to venture off the prescribed path? How many creative geniuses never discover their gifts because they're too busy completing worksheets that extinguish rather than ignite their spark?

The most powerful protection we can give our children isn't shielding them from challenges but preserving that internal spark—the natural love of learning and discovery.

📊 TRENDS WE'RE WATCHING

The Ghost of Calculators Past – A 1969 photo has resurfaced showing teachers picketing against calculator use in schools. Today's ChatGPT panic follows a similar pattern—fear that tools will replace thinking. The protesters weren't entirely wrong; mental math builds intuitive understanding. The question isn't whether to use tools, but how to ensure they enhance rather than replace comprehension.

Department of Education: Downsized, Not Demolished – Despite dramatic headlines about the Department of Education's dismantling, Rick Hess's analysis reveals a more nuanced reality. While staffing has been reduced, the department continues to operate.

Kindergarten Without Walls – What if freedom, not structure, creates the strongest foundation for learning? Our deep dive into kindergarten alternatives challenges the academic arms race of coding classes for five-year-olds and Mandarin immersion for preschoolers.

The Flight School Reimagines Gap Years – The "gap year" is evolving. The Flight School offers high school graduates a transformative "launch year" with up to $10,000 to design their own learning path. Instead of aimless travel, Fellows explore meaningful questions like "Who are you beyond your achievements?" while receiving coaching and mentorship.

🛠️ TOOLS OF THE WEEK

Free 24/7 STEM Help – A group of high school, undergraduate, and graduate STEM students recently created a free Discord server offering round-the-clock help with science, technology, engineering, and math.

Join the STEM Tutoring Discord Server →

Navigating 6,700 Homeschool Resources – The Homeschool Resource Roadmap offers an impressive database of 6,700+ educational resources spanning 300 content areas. While the interface doesn't offer true filtering capabilities (making it somewhat overwhelming), it does identify whether materials align with Common Core standards (if that’s what you’re looking for).

The Three C's of Effective Learning – Creating a personalized learning environment doesn't happen by chance. We've observed that meaningful education consistently happens at the intersection of three critical elements:

1. Choice: Real agency over how, what, and when learning happens

2. Competency: Adequate time, resources, and support to develop and master key skills at an individual pace

3. Connection: Learning topics that actually matter to the learner and spark genuine curiosity

💭 PARTING WISDOM

THE REAL PRIZE IS THE DISCOVERY

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman rejected the very honors that made him famous, preferring the joy of discovery over external validation:

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"I've already got the prize. The prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out, the kick in the discovery, the observation that other people use it. Those are the real things."

When learning is driven by curiosity rather than credentials, children develop a relationship with knowledge that lasts a lifetime.

That’s all for this week!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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