Information and instruction are everywhere.
We don't need our schools to deliver data.
We need school to make it come alive.

Rethinking the experience of learning

 We think of school as classrooms and cafeterias, libraries and auditoriums, offices and locker-lined corridors. We imagine, because it was so for us, that these are the tools you need to get the job done. We forget that the culture changed after we left school. We forget that the tools  and the possibilities have expanded dramatically since then. We forget that the very nature of work has changed. We forget that the exponential curve of technological advancement now guarantees that learning will be life-long and just-in-time and practically impossible to  plan.

The school you knew is not the school your children need. It's time to re-invent school.

A new lexicon of learning experiences and environments.

We promote Creativity: but where is Meditation in our schools to teach students intuition? Where are Caves and Nests to encourage concentration? Where is the focus on Magic, to set sights higher than mere competence? Where are the Workshops to offer tools and skills in making? Where are the Safaris to promote empathy? When do we champion Subversion as a path to invention?

We exalt Curiosity: but where is Adventure to confront, body and mind, the unknown?  Where are the Shrines and Media Arrays and Big Maps to inspire imagination and a sense of possibility? Where are the Quests to imbue questions with epic significance? Where are the Bullfights to show how questions tackle problems?

We strive for Collaboration: but where are the Apprenticeships to honor mastery? Where is the focus on Passion, to inspire Leadership? Where are the metaphoric Sandboxes, to offer Agency? Where are the sustained Climbs to build teamwork? Where are the ambitious Projects like Gardens to demonstrate the beauty of teamwork? Where are the Games, to link learning to Joy?

We emphasize Communication: but where are lessons in Conversation to teach students how to Listen? Where is the Speaker's Corner, to teach them to speak? Where is the focus on Storytelling, and where are the Campfires, to teach the power of authenticity and the ability to create meaning? Where are the experiences poignant enough to inspire Writing worth reading?

We focus on Critical Thinking: but where is Demolition, for lessons in shattering clichés? Where is dynamic Listening, to insure understanding? Where are the small Round Table conversations to challenge preconceptions? Where are the Puzzles, to teach endurance and a growth mindset? Where is the Market of ideas and resources to promote comparison and diversity? Where are the carefully managed challenges, the Races and Duels that promote Resilience, in order to thrive on critique?

The point is not that School is devoid entirely of these rich, emotional experiences: only that these experiences are few and far between. They should be the core of the enterprise. We need a place that doesn't glue students to a chair and doesn't attach teachers to a presentation wall. 

It's time to re-invent school. 

 A recent survey of 100 American teachers (Krabbendam, 2025) demonstrated strong support for a school organized around a rich and varied palette of learning environments. Invited to re-imagine their own school, 48.8% of respondents voiced support for the approach, 28.6% required more information before offering a verdict, and 22.6% of respondents rejected the approach. Most important, 88.4% of respondents agreed that the newly re-organized school would be more successful in engaging students than their existing school.

The key take-away: existing schools can be re-imagined and re-organized to recapture student engagement.