“What do you think about us having a funeral for a dead bird we found?”

“What would you do if I said I didn’t want to go to math class, but wanted to go look at trees instead?”

“How do you think about the differences between progressive and self-directed education?”

“What do you think about us having so much freedom here?”

“Are you the number one horse hater?”

These are just some of the wonderful, thoughtful, funny, honest questions that the Embark members in the Hiring Circle asked me during my first interview. In my teaching career, I have only had one other interview in which the staff trusted its students enough to include them in the hiring process–a decision that impacts the students at least as much as, and likely more than, it impacts the staff on the hiring team. At Embark, the members who had volunteered to be part of the Hiring Circle were not just involved in a section of the interview. They were part of the whole process–reading resumes and applications, choosing which candidates to invite, preparing for the interviews, asking questions, giving tours, discussing candidates afterwards, and, ultimately, deciding who to hire. I knew that I had come to a special place, one that believes in empowering its members and trusts its young people to be involved in important decisions.

Since I began studying education, I have been drawn to places that aspire to give students agency in their learning experience, and define “learning” as broadly as possible, honoring interest as a necessary condition for learning, and direct experience as a key teacher. I studied progressive education and, for a number of years, worked in progressive schools that were dedicated to giving students as much agency in their learning as possible within the “school” paradigm.

Given my experience with progressive education, the folks at Embark wanted to be sure that I understood the difference between progressive ed and self-directed education from the beginning. They sent me an article by Peter Gray about the topic, which really resonated with me. My response to the question about the difference between progressive and self-directed education was something like this: I treasure my time and learning at the progressive schools where I worked. Within the context of a “school,” the progressive schools where I worked did so much to honor student interest and give students much, much more choice and opportunity for deep learning than most other schools are able or willing to give them. Still, while teaching in a math classroom (even such an open one), I struggled with feeling that it wasn’t enough. I could (and did!) work tirelessly trying to create curricula and activities to engage my students, providing support for those struggling and extensions for those who need more challenge, being flexible and meeting students “where they’re at,” trying to understand individual student needs, interests, and goals, and reconcile those with the needs of the group and external expectations about what they were “supposed to” learn in my class. At best, my efforts engaged some students in mathematics, some of whom had never been interested in it before; for others, my efforts made math more bearable than it had been in previous experiences. Still, I struggled to get past the reality that many of my students would rather be doing something else, and most of the rest were motivated primarily by promises of future “success” rather than enjoyment of the subject. Much of what I was tasked with teaching them had been, in my opinion and experience, falsely advertised to them as “important” for getting placed into the most challenging classes, getting into the most prestigious schools, getting the most prestigious/high paying jobs, etc. etc. along the success treadmill. I ultimately could not reconcile why these young people shouldn’t be allowed to spend more of their time pursuing their interests instead of being stuck in my class against their will.

Fast forward to today, and I find myself as a staff member at Embark Center, where the young people who come here are not subject to staff members’ agenda about what to learn or how to spend their time other than their own. All classes exist solely based on member interest and no one is forced to attend. We do not prescribe what topics or activities are more “important” than others, so doing math and looking at trees are held on equal standing, as I believe they should be. This has raised all kinds of questions in me as I myself undergo the “deschooling” process, and am doing my best to stay open and curious.

Meanwhile, I have been spending my time getting to know the members, attending weekly community meetings and classes like Dungeons and Dragons, Short Stories, Gardening, and more. No one has asked me to go look at trees or participate in a funeral for a dead bird, but I am excited to continue getting to know everyone and look forward to sharing my interests in sustainable agriculture; cooking and fermentation; plant ID and foraging; music; math and logic puzzles, traditional folklore, mythology and storytelling; and more, with the Embark community.

Lastly, despite my preference for working with cows, pigs, goats, and plants, I am not the number one horse hater.