This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(June 2021) |
North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens | |
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Address | |
45 Amherst Road , 01375 United States | |
Coordinates | 42°27′55.5″N72°34′34.1″W / 42.465417°N 72.576139°W |
Information | |
Type | Self-directed learning center |
Motto | "Learning is natural. School is optional." |
Established | 1996 |
Founders | Kenneth Danford, Joshua Hornick |
Director | Kenneth Danford |
Staff | 8 (2016) |
Age range | 11 to 19 years |
Enrollment | 60+ |
Affiliation | Nonsectarian |
Alumni | 500+ |
Information | fee-based, nonprofit |
Website | northstarteens |
North Star Self-Directed Learning for Teens is a self-directed learning centre in Sunderland, Massachusetts, founded in 1996. The mission of North Star is to help teenagers find ways to learn and excel outside of traditional middle school and high school. It offers a non-coercive learning environment without required classes, grades or tests. [1] Members range in age from 11 to 19 years old. Both previously-schooled teens and long-time homeschoolers attend the center. As of 2015, North Star has over 60 members [2] and over 500 alumni from all over the Pioneer Valley and beyond.
North Star was founded by two Massachusetts middle school teachers who were frustrated with a system that forced students to attend their classes. [3] In contrast, North Star supports teenagers to self-direct their education, offering a program of optional classes, tutoring, trips and community events, taught and organized by North Star's professional staff and an extensive network of volunteers. Each North Star member is paired with an advisor who supports and encourages the teen as they transition to self-directed learning. [4] The center is funded through sliding-scale tuition and donations.
North Star was founded as Pathfinder Learning Center by Kenneth Danford and Joshua Hornick in 1996. After reading Grace Llewellyn's book The Teenage Liberation Handbook they both quit their jobs as middle school teachers to create a career that would make what Llewellyn described possible for teenagers in their area. [3]
In 2002, the center was renamed North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens, [5] and in 2007 the center moved into the historic Russell Street School building in Hadley, Massachusetts.
In June 2015, North Star moved to Sunderland due to safety concerns with the Russell Street building. [6]
Using homeschooling as a tool to get out of school, North Star works personally with each teen and their family to create an educational plan that is supported by North Star's staff and teachers. This customized plan consists of a staff adviser, parent conferences, and classes, tutorials, workshops, or tutoring if desired and available. North Star works with every interested family, regardless of ability to pay tuition or fees. [5]
Classes, tutorials, and workshops are taught by staff members, volunteers, or college students through work-study. Classes are scheduled Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and the centre is closed on Wednesdays and weekends. Attendance is non-compulsory and there are no required classes.
Since 2010, several self-directed learning centres have opened in both the United States and Canada, using the approach and program pioneered by North Star. The centres are part of the Liberated Learners network which supports people to create centres based on the North Star model. [7]
A teaching method is a set of principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has take into account the learner, the nature of the subject matter, and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about.
A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task.
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Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
Grace Llewellyn is an American educator, author, and publisher. She is the founder of Lowry House Publishers, founder and director of Not Back To School Camp and The Hive: Self-Directed Learning for Teens.
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South Hadley High School is a secondary school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States, for students in grades 9–12. The school has a student population of just over 500. The school's name is frequently referred to as "SHHS".
In-home tutoring, also known as tuition in British English, it is a form of tutoring that occurs in the home. Tutoring involves receiving guidance and instruction from a tutor who may serve as a teacher or mentor to the student receiving the tutoring. Most often tutoring relates to an academic subject or test preparation. In contrast to tutoring centers or tutoring provided through after-school programs, the practice usually involves one-on-one attention provided to a pupil in their home. When multiple students are present the practice is also commonly referred to as small group tuition.
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Greene's College Oxford is an independent sixth form tutorial college in Oxford, England. The college specialises in providing bespoke individualised tuition in the tutorial method of learning for students of any age, though particularly 16-18-year-olds. Greene's is situated near Pembroke College and Christ Church - two constituent colleges of the University of Oxford.
Phoebe Nora Mary Prince was a British-Irish student at an American high school whose suicide in led to the criminal prosecution of six teenagers for charges including civil rights violations, as well as to the enactment of stricter anti-bullying legislation by the Massachusetts state legislature.
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