Students will read approximately 30 pages per week as "homework" in preparation for class.  Students will also complete an assigned "job" which they will informally present to the class.

Week 1:  Welcome, Introductions, Explanation of the purpose and goals of the course, Explanation of what to expect, how to access documents and needed information for the course.  Read:  "The Preface" and "An Important Warning"

Week 2: Chapters 1-3, all students present work, discuss book

Week 3:  Chapters 4-7, all students present work, discuss book

Week 4:  Chapters 8-11, all students present work, discuss book

Week 5:  Chapters 12 -14, all students present work, discuss book

Week 6:  Chapters 15-17, all students present work, discuss book

Week 7:  Chapters 18-20, all students present work, discuss book

Week 8: Chapter 21 and Appendix, About the Author, Author Q and A, all students present work, discuss book

My name is Carie Beth Russell.  I live in the Kansas City area with my husband, two daughters, an elderly cat and 3 year old Vizsla.  I am a former elementary teacher and gifted education specialist.  I have been “home” since my second daughter was born, but have remained active in the field of education by teaching educational summer camps, tutoring and teaching at a homeschool enrichment program. 

My professional priorities center around student-led learning.  It’s my strong conviction that supporting children as they learn, rather than dictating how and what they learn, is the way to encourage their inborn patterns of curiosity, wonder and problem-solving that will serve them well in all stages of being human.  

While my own children attend public school, we very much view education as something we own and must take personal responsibility for.  We work hard at educational advocacy within the public school context.  I teach my daughters to communicate with their teachers, ask for what they need and request amended or extended: depth, duration and scope of projects, units, skills and personal areas of interest.  

Gifted Education services often provide these things for students who have been identified as such, but these standards and the definition of “giftedness” vary from state to state, based generally on funding, and doesn’t allow for many students to qualify.  This leaves an enormous group of students who have “need of different” but no access to a more open-ended and curiosity-led education.  Please understand that when I say enormous, I mean ALL.  

Out School, and other platforms like it, allow students who are enrolled in public schools to adapt their learning modalities and pursue interests and learning pathways that intrigue their own very unique minds.  This is great, but certainly not financially accessible to all.  Teaching students to participate in Student Led Learning, in its various formats, allows them to continue on in their own investigations of an amazing planet and human experience, studying past, present and future as they forge their own distinct path. 

Homework Offered
Students will be asked to read approximately 30 pages per week and present their literature circle "job" to the class in an informal and supported context.
1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
Informal assessment available upon request.  
Grades Offered